A Carers Assessment is a process that provides an opportunity to discuss your caring situation and plan the sort of support that would help you in your caring role. You can also discuss any help that would maintain your own health, and balance caring with other aspects of your life, like work and family. It may also be described as a Carers Plan or Carers Support Plan.
The Health & Community Care Scotland Act 2002, entitles carers who are providing (or intend to provide) regular and substantial amounts of care to an assessment in their own right. This means that carers can ask for their own needs to be assessed in relation to the caring they provide (or intend to provide) and it is not dependent on the person they care for requesting formal services or support.
You do not have to be living with the person you care for in order to qualify for an assessment. You can also ask for an assessment if you know you are going to be caring in the future, for example, if the person you care for is about to be discharged from hospital. Parents of children with special needs and young carers are also entitled to ask for an assessment.
Why do I need a Carers' Plan?
An assessment will provide you with the opportunity to talk about your caring responsibilities, the impact being a carer has on your life, and any support you think would make your caring role easier. Even if you feel that the help and support you need may not be available, it is still worthwhile entering into this process because a) this will highlight areas where the provision of help and support is lacking, b) this will allow you to examine what you do, how you manage and what you perhaps miss out on, and c) this will ensure there is a record of your caring relationship(s) which may be reviewed in the future.
