We all want to have control over our lives, living as independently and safely in our own homes for as long as possible. However, at some point, it might get a little harder to manage and you may need some support to do this.
How we can help - What is Adult Social Care?
Adult Social Care is the care and support provided by the Council for adults who are assessed to need support to live, as independently as possible.
Adults who might need care and support include:
• older people
• people with learning disabilities
• people with physical disabilities
• people with mental health problems
• people with drug and alcohol problems
• people who have caring responsibilities for others, known as carers
What support do we provide?
In Rhondda Cynon Taf, we provide a range of services to assist adults in meeting their care and support needs; here are some examples of how we may be able to help:
• providing information and advice
• signposting to activities and support in the local community
• delivering short and long-term care and support in the home
• making homes more accessible by providing adaptations and community equipment
• organising a move into a care home when living at home is no longer possible
• supporting people who care for others
• preventing and protecting adults at risk from harm or neglect
We work in partnership with the health service, third sector, private organisations, voluntary groups, housing services and others to ensure you get the right support at the right time.
For a list of wellbeing services in your community, you can visit the Dewis Wales website: www.dewis.wales
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What matters - Assessing your needs
If you require more than just information, you will speak to a member of our Single Point of Access Team (SPA), who will begin your assessment with you. The assessment is a conversation about ‘What Matters’ to you, or the person you care for, and gives you an opportunity to tell us about your situation and how your care needs are affecting your wellbeing.
The assessment is about you and your involvement helps us to understand things from your point of view. We will make sure that you are involved throughout but, if you prefer, then your carer, a friend or family member can help and represent you.
If you don’t have anyone or would like a person outside of your family/friends to help we can also support you in finding an independent advocate to represent you.
Together, we will agree on the most suitable outcomes for you, and a copy of your agreed outcomes will be offered to you.
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Carers
If you are caring for someone and would like to discuss your caring role, you can contact First Response on 01443 425003 and we will have the same ‘What Matters’ conversation with you to establish what outcomes you would like to achieve and how we can assist you in your caring role and meeting those outcomes.
Our Carers Support Project can also support you in your caring role.
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Eligibility for care and support
What happens if I am eligible to receive care and support?
When we undertake your assessment, we consider whether you are eligible for our support using the National Eligibility Criteria set out by Welsh Government.
If you are eligible to receive support from us, we will work with you to plan the best care and support to meet your needs.
Further information on the National Eligibility criteria is available on the following website:
https://socialcare.wales/hub/sswbact-regulations
What happens if I am not eligible to receive care and support?
If your assessment identifies that you are not eligible to receive care and support from the Council, we will provide you with information and advice on how to access support locally.
This local support may help you with supporting your wellbeing, housing issues, benefits or may help you to attend clubs and voluntary groups in your community.
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Planning your care and support
If you are eligible for care and support from us, we will work with you to develop a care and support plan (or a care and treatment plan if you are in receipt of secondary mental health support).
Your plan will be created with you and any organisations involved with your care and support. It will describe the support we will provide or arrange for you, for what length of time and how often you receive it. You will be provided with your own copy of your care and support plan.
If you wish, when developing you care and support plan, we will take into account the views of your family, your carers and professional people who understand your circumstances.
If you receive long-term care as part of your care and support plan, we will review the support you receive and make sure that they continue to meet your needs.
During your assessment, the option of using direct payments to meet your care and support needs may be discussed.
Direct payments enable you to arrange care and support yourself instead of receiving a package of care arranged by the Council. You choose what type of help you need, who provides it and when this support is required.
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Sharing your personal information
We collect and hold personal information about people supported by Adult Social Care to enable us to provide the best possible care. We have a duty to treat this information confidentially but also rely on sharing information about you with our partners in order to deliver care and support efficiently.
The types of information we hold and process about you will vary depending on the care and support that you receive from us. Typically, this will include information about your personal needs and circumstances, as well as the professional observations and assessment of Adult Social Care staff and other professionals who are involved in your care.
Rest assured that:
• your information will be shared responsibly and safely
• sharing information in this way will stop you having to repeat your story to different people at different times
• it will help you to get the support you need as quickly as possible
You have the right to say no if you do not want the Council processing your personal information. This is not an absolute right and only applies in certain limited circumstances. Whether it applies depends on why we are processing the information and our lawful basis for doing so.
The Data Protection Act gives individuals a number of rights including the right to know what information is held about you and sets out rules to make sure that this information is handled properly.
For details on your information rights under the General Data Protection Regulations (GDPR) or to view the Community and Children’s Services Privacy Notice, visit:
www.rctcbc.gov.uk/yourinformationrights
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Contact us
You can do this yourself, or a friend, relative or health professional (like your doctor) can do it on your behalf.
You can make a request for help to meet your care and support needs by contacting the First Response Team.
Telephone: 01443 425003(calls cost the price of a local call)
Email: socialservices@rctcbc.gov.uk
A member of the Team will provide you with any relevant information or pass you over to another Team who will be happy to discuss more about you.
If you have concerns about your own mental health or someone else’s, your first step would be to contact your GP, who then make a referral to Adult Social Care.
Our Emergency Duty Team (EDT) deals with social care issues that happen outside office hours, at weekends or bank holidays and that cannot wait for our offices to reopen on the next working day:
Telephone: 01443 743665 (calls cost the price of a local call)
If you believe an adult is at risk, you can report your concerns by calling our First Response Team on the details above.
If you suspect a person is at immediate risk of harm call 999 and speak to the Police.
If you feel a criminal offence has occurred you can call South Wales Police on 101
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