Assessment of needs
The assessment of a persons needs for these types of services should be done in a reasonable time frame, as any delay may cause continued harm or detriment to a person in need.
This assessment process sounds simple, and in some senses it is – the local authority only has to be made aware of the “appearance” of need – that there “may” be a need for such services to trigger the duty to assess a person, or potential “service user”.
However, in practice, what can start as a simple duty becomes complicated inasmuch as the assessor:-
- May not assess the needs properly or thoroughly enough
- May not consider the needs to be an “eligible needs” – ie needs which are of a sufficient level of seriousness to trigger the duty to intervene
- May delay in assessing the needs to the point where the situation no longer requires help or where the needs have increased or changed
- May take unlawful account of help being provided by family/friends and informal carers to the extent where it is (wrongly) decided that there is no duty on the state to provide or arrange help
Many local authorities are now using systemised approaches to assessing needs. These include what are known as Resource Allocation Systems – where a person is scored so many points depending on what needs they are assessed as having and what help they already get. The process then works out if the person is eligible to receive help and what individual budget can be spent on that person’s care.
Such systems are prone to error in our experience and – whilst it is not unlawful to use any reasonable system to administer and fund care to individuals – such systems should only lead to an indication of the level of need in any given case – they should not be the final arbiter.
Many people are afraid to ask for help. They may be getting some help and fear that by asking for more they are “biting the hand that feeds them” as we live in times when public authorities are trying to save money at all levels. Or they may fear that by asking for help (instead of saying they can manage), the council may want to put them into care and they would lose their independence partially or fully.
These concerns are understandable, but the law states that the assessment and arrangement of community care services are legal rights…not merely aspirations or charity.
Know your rights
Very often if a public authority makes a decision, it is all too easy to accept the decision – to believe “they must know what they are doing”.
Our experience is that in this area of law there are many, many challenges which can be made to decisions made by public authorities, or against delay or inaction by them.
Stephensons has been involved in numerous high profile cases involving community care assessments and service decisions, for advice call our experts on 01616 966 229 or complete our online enquiry form and a member of the team will contact you directly.
