Can we help you?
If you, or someone you are concerned about,
- live in the Bradford Metropolitan District
- might need help to continue to live at home, or perhaps move into a care home
- or, if you are caring for someone, and feel you need help yourself...
Please contact us to see whether we can help you.
What happens when I ask for help?
If you contact us for help you will be asked some straightforward questions about yourself, or the person you are enquiring for, such as:
- what difficulties you or they are having at the moment
- what type of help you feel is needed
- how urgent the situation is.
We will put you in touch with the team best able to help you.
What happens next?
If it seems that either you or your carer (a family member or friend who is looking after you) does need help, we will arrange for someone to assess the situation.
This might only take one discussion with you, or it might take more than one, not just with you but with any carer involved too. If we feel we need to get information from other people, such as your doctor, we will ask for your permission before we do this.
If the situation is straightforward the assessment might be finished within a few days or, if it is more complicated, it might take a number of weeks.
What is an assessment?
In an assessment we gather information to work out what difficulties you or your carer are having and what sort of help you are asking for. Then we work out what help we can offer. Our aim is to help people to be as independent as possible.
Who does the assessment? There are a number of different people who might carry out an assessment. For example, it could be a nurse or a social worker.
If you have health problems as well as other difficulties, you may get help from both the NHS (National Health Service) and from Social Services.
Will I get help?
We have limited money to spend and cannot meet all requests for help. In order to be fair to everyone, help is given based on how urgent and important your needs are.
The government has said that we must decide whether the needs are:
- critical - without help you would be at high risk, and your life in danger
- substantial - without help you would lose your ability to stay independently at home
- moderate - without help you would become more dependent on other people
- low - help would improve the quality of your life but without it you are not at risk.
In the Bradford district we have agreed that we can meet needs which are critical, substantial or moderate, but not those which are low. This means that in some cases we may not be able to provide all the help you feel you need.
We will involve you and anyone who cares for you in the assessment, and we will discuss any difficulties with you. We want to reach agreement with you about what you need.
What sort of help could I get?
The kind of help we can arrange includes:
- home care (where someone comes to the house to help you)
- day care (care away from home during the day) in a day or resource centre
- regular visits by a nurse or social worker
- direct payments (to allow you to buy in your own help)
- support for carers (such as our sitting service)
- providing equipment or minor adaptations to the home
- help in getting a job or in doing an educational course
- a short break where you spend a brief time in a care home
- help to move to more suitable accommodation, possibly with support available on site
- longer-term placement in a Care home.
Is there a charge for our help?
If you get a service from us, you will usually be expected to pay something towards it. The amount will depend on how much you can afford, not on how much help you get. Please see below for details.
Once services start, will they continue?
We will keep in contact with you to see whether the services need to continue, or should be increased or perhaps reduced.
What happens if there are problems?
If you or your carer have any concerns, please discuss these with us so we can sort them out. If this doesn’t help you have the right to use the formal complaints process.
Please use the Get in Touch link below to contact us.
