Carer’s Assessment
We are receiving a high volume of referrals to the service, so please be aware that there will be a wait of at least three weeks before you are contacted by a worker.
What is a Carer’s Assessment?
It is an assessment of a carer’s needs for support including your role as a carer, your needs for support and the outcomes that you wish to achieve in day-to-day life.
As a carer, you are entitled to request an assessment no matter how much care you provide or if the person you support has a formal diagnosis or not. You are not obliged to do a Carer’s Assessment.
You can complete a carer’s assessment once a year or sooner if your circumstances have changed.
Ways to do a Carer’s Assessment
1. On Oxfordshire County Council’s website. Complete the Carer’s Assessment form yourself online. If you have difficulty completing an online assessment you can ask someone you know to help.
2. If you are unable to do an online assessment and have no one who can help, you can be supported by Carers Oxfordshire. To do so, please complete our contact form and we will get back to you, or you can call us on 01235 424 715.
*You should consider preparing for your carer’s assessment beforehand. Use our guidance to help you prepare and understand the assessment and eligibility for support in more detail:
What will happen at my carer’s assessment?
If you are completing a self-assessment online you will complete the questions and provide any information. Once you have completed your online self-assessment we will contact to discuss and agree what you have written on the form.
If you are being supported to complete your carer’s assessment we will help you to identify your own needs and consider whether or not your caring role impacts on your health or prevents you from achieving outcomes, for example staying in work or having a social life. We will consider what could be done to help you. We will complete the form using the information you have provided and agree what is written.
Once the assessment is agreed we will make a decision on your eligibility for support and discuss any support that you need and what that might be.
If your Carer’s Assessment shows you have eligible needs for support, Carers Oxfordshire will work with you to create a support plan. Your support plan will list the things you need help with, why you need support, what it is and how it will help. We will not make any decisions about support without you.
If you do not have eligible needs, we will give you advice about how to prevent developing needs in the future and any free community support that might help you.