CSAB have been supporting National Carers Week and sharing information with carers through our bulletins.  

This final briefing of the week is aimed at any practitioners who may be working with individuals who are being cared for by an unpaid carer, recognising the stress this can have on the carer and Care Act duties in respect of carers assessments.  

Learning from Safeguarding Adult Reviews (SARs) clearly identifies the stress that the role of informal or unpaid caring can have on family and friends.   Recently published SARs in Cumbria, Sarah and Pauline & George highlight the important role which unpaid carers play.  Please visit the SAR page on our website for further information to read the SAR reports and learning briefings here.

• The duty is to assess a carer’s need for support to enable them to achieve outcomes which are important to them in day-to-day life, and to be able to provide necessary care to an adult.
• An assessment is not an assessment of eligibility to meet the specified outcomes.
• The purpose of the carer assessment is to identify personal outcomes, existing needs and impact on individual priorities (individual wellbeing) and the caring role.
• It is a critical intervention (the form is where the intervention is recorded in a structured way).

SCIE have produced a short video about Care Act duties and carers assessments.  The video features an 'expert by experience' Kevin, who shares his experience as an unpaid carer for his Mum and what he needed for his own health and wellbeing as a carer.  Kevin shares from his perspective what he felt would be useful for practitioners to share with him during assessment of needs including considering the impact of caring on his life.

What the short video - What is a carer assessment?  

• It must be person-centred.
• To understand if there is need for support requires evidence gathered during a semi-structured conversation.
• The assessment should be led by the carer and facilitated by the assessor using strengths-based open-ended questions.
• Identifying assessed needs is in relation to the nine areas of wellbeing.
• The assessment considers the viewpoint of all those involved in the process (i.e. assessor, individual, professionals, carer, etc.).
• An assessment should be a proportionate response to the presenting needs and be flexible and adaptable to the assessed needs and the individual circumstances.
• An assessment can be undertaken using different means/methods, e.g. telephone.

Find below a set of reflective questions that will help you embed the above key messages in your social care practice.

1. Have I fully explained the purpose of a carer assessment, and given the carer enough time and information about how to prepare for the assessment?
2. Have I offered the carer the opportunity to have the assessment at a time and place to suit them? Have I checked whether their preference is to have the assessment alone or with family or friends present, and with or without the person they care for?
3. During the assessment did I ask open-ended questions and listen for, and check, how the carer is feeling about their caring responsibilities now and in the future, and how these may impact on their physical, mental and emotional wellbeing and opportunities to participate in work, education, training and recreation, and family time.
4. During the assessment did I ensure that the carer leads the conversation around their needs and has the opportunity to be fully involved in identifying their options and decision-making?
5. Am I clear about who is a carer?
6. Have I asked the right questions to ensure I understand the whole picture and what support the carer needs to carry out their caring role?
7. Am I open to the carer’s suggestions about the support they need?

A quick guide for social care practitioners

Good quality, consistent support helps the health, wellbeing and resilience of adult carers.

Carers are key members of the team around the person they support but taking on a caring role can have a significant impact on their life, health and wellbeing.

NICE have published a quick guide to support practitioners to actively identify carers and let anyone providing unpaid care know that they have the right to an assessment of their own needs, separate to any assessment for the person they support. This is a statutory requirement under the Care Act 2014, which strengthens the recognition and rights of adult carers.