What is community care law? Who does it apply to, and when do you need it?
My name is Maria Nicholas. I am a solicitor and a director at GN Law. I head our Community Care and Court of Protection department and specialise in community care and mental capacity law. In this video, I’m going to talk about the fundamental issues of community care.
The issues of community care affect many people’s lives, a growing number in fact. As our population gets older, more and more people find themselves in need of social care services from their local authority.
Social care services provide support to those suffering with a physical or mental health disability, and who need help to deal with that disability and go about their daily lives. Services can include carers helping with personal care at home, assisting with accessing the community, respite services, help with taking medication or “meals on wheels” where a hot meal is delivered to the home each day. Social care services also cover care in a residential care home.
If you or someone you know feel you need this kind of support, the first step is to ask your local authority social services department to assess your needs. You are entitled to an assessment if the local authority has reason to believe you are a person in need within their area; this is regardless of your financial situation. Following the assessment, your social worker should then produce a care plan which sets out what support they recommend you need. Then, a financial assessment will take place. This will take into account your income and capital, and determine whether you are entitled to free social care services, or if you have to contribute to it, or fund it all.
In the last few years, there has been a much greater focus on personalisation and the individual. This means that your care package should be created to meet your needs as an individual. Part of this is direct payments. Instead of the local authority arranging the social care service for you, or sending a carer to you, you will receive the money and can arrange your own care. It is obviously important that you only use the money for the services the local authority says you need. There are organisations and charities who can help you to manage the funds if you need it.
As a community care lawyer, I mostly help people who are having difficulties getting an assessment or care from their local authority in the first place, or people who have a care package which is then reduced and no longer meets their needs. Other issues that arise are in relation to safeguarding issues, disabled facilities grants, NHS continuing healthcare and advice to carers of disabled people. These are just a few of things that we find people need advice and assistance with.
The Care Act 2014 will be in force very soon, and we will provide further information about this on our website shortly.
I hope this has been helpful, and do call me or one of my colleagues, for a free chat to see if we can help or if you have any questions or concerns.
Call Maria Nicholas or Natasha Hejabizadeha on 0208 492 2290
We hope that you have found this video helpful. This video is designed to be a brief introduction to the topic that it covers. It aims to be informative and to assist people to take the next step in solving the legal problem that they may have. This video does not constitute legal advice and does not seek to solve specific legal issues. If you have a specific legal problem that you need solved, you should take expert legal advice from a solicitor.
