Eligibility Criteria for Adults and Older People
Eligibility Criteria
What are eligibility criteria?
Eligibility criteria are a method for deploying limited resources in a way that ensures those resources are targeted to those in greatest need, while also recognising the types of low-level intervention that can be made to support people in less urgent need of services.
The Scottish Government requires local authorities to publish eligibility criteria to make sure that all adults over 16 years of age, who need social care support, have their needs dealt with in a fair, consistent and transparent way.
Eligible Needs
What are eligible needs?
The critical, substantial, moderate and low criteria bands describe the level of need experienced by an individual.
Orkney Islands Council’s eligibility criteria take account of both the severity of risk and urgency of intervention needed to respond to these needs.
Critical risk indicates that there are major risks to an individual’s independence or health and well-being likely to call for the immediate or imminent provision of social care services.
Substantial risk indicates that there are significant risks to an individual’s independence or health and well-being likely to call for the immediate or imminent provision of social care services.
Moderate risk indicates that there are some risks to an individual’s independence or health and well-being where there may be some need for alternative supports and services.
Low risk indicates that there may be some quality-of-life issues, but low risks to an individual’s independence or health and well-being with very limited, if any, requirement for the provision of social care services.
Orkney Council Social Work Services
Who will receive services?
We give priority to people who are assessed as being within the critical and substantial categories.
Eligible social care needs are those which your assessment has identified as not already being met through your existing supports including family, friends and carers.
Social Work Services will provide information, advice, guidance and signposting to support those people assessed as within the moderate or low risk categories including information about alternative sources of support and how to access them.
People in these lower categories may qualify for help from a range of other services including welfare benefits, health, housing, transport and leisure. Local voluntary and community services may be able to assist.
If I am eligible what happens next?
Orkney Islands Council has introduced self-directed support which aims to give you greater choice and control over how your eligible social care needs are met.
If you are assessed as having eligible needs, you will be given a choice as to how you wish the support to be managed.
Those assessed as eligible will be able to access appropriate services which may include long term care, care at home, reablement day care, respite care or equipment and adaptations for your home.
Assessment
What is a needs assessment and review?
Orkney Islands Council will assess the needs of any individual who may need social care support.
A needs assessment involves talking with social work staff to look at what your needs are and decide whether these are eligible for council funded social care and support.
The aim is to get a full picture of the things that you can manage and the support that you get from others, before deciding what you may need from adult social services. Your social, physical, emotional and health needs will be considered including any cultural or religious needs that you have.
Social work staff may ask your permission to contact other people that support you, such as your doctor.
The person carrying out the assessment will talk to you about the outcomes you want to achieve and what kinds of support work best for you.
If you do not agree with the assessment and / or assigned eligibility, you have the right to complain using our complaints procedure.
Review
If you receive a care package and/or personal budget, it will be reviewed from time to time. A review means that a member of staff will contact you to discuss how the service is going and whether your needs have changed.
A review may lead to your services being increased or decreased if your needs have changed.
Carers
A carer is someone who is unpaid for providing support to a relative, partner or friend. The need for support could be for several reasons including age, physical or learning disability, or illness, including mental illness.
All carers will receive an assessment/carer support plan and provided with information, advice and support relative to need.
The assessment will relate to the impact of the caring role on the individual carer. It will need to answer the following questions:
- What is the risk of the caring role breaking down?
- What supports and services does the carer require to support their caring role?
- Does the carer require support to maintain their health and well-being?
The carers assessment/support plan will carefully consider the risk factors that affect the carer’s ability and willingness to care.
Contacting Social Work
Adults Social Work Team (ask for the Duty Worker)
Tel: 01856 873535
Email: asw@orkney.gov.uk
