Needs assessment | Carers UK (2024)

A trained care professional will talk to the person you care for about how they’re managing everyday tasks such as washing, dressing and cooking. The cared for person must be involved in the assessment and their needs and wishes should be taken into account. If someone has complex needs, the assessor should have specialist knowledge or expertise.

Needs assessments are normally done face-to-face, usually at the home of the cared for person. They can be done online, over the phone or by self-assessment, but only if the person you look after agrees to it. 

The assessor should consider the following: 

• the care and support needs of the person you look after
• the things that are important to them, such as a need to help with getting dressed or support to get to work
• their choices and goals, such as maintaining relationships or taking up a new activity
• the services, advice, information and resources that will stop or slow down any further needs developing
• their family’s needs.

You can be involved in the assessment if the person you care for would like this.

The person you look after will be eligible for help if they answer yes to all three of the following questions.

1.Do you need support because you have a physical or mental illness or disability?

2. Are you unable to achieve two or more care outcomes?

Care outcomes include someone’s ability to:

• prepare and eat food and get enough to drink
• maintain personal hygiene,egby washing themselves and keeping their clothes clean
• manage their toilet needs
• dressing appropriately
• keep their home safe
• maintain and develop relationships with friends and family
• take part in any work, education, training or volunteering they wish to
• participate in social activities and hobbies
• use public transport and local services
• look after any children they’re responsible for

The assessor must only look at what the person can do for themselves and ignore any support you or others give them. Theperson must be assessed as unable to achieve an outcome if they can’t do it at all without help, or if doing it causes a lot of pain or anxiety, puts their safety at risk, or takes a lot longer than normal.

3. Could this have a significant impact on your wellbeing?

‘Wellbeing’ covers a lot of different areas, including being treated with dignity and respect, relationships with other people, health, safety and protection from abuse or neglect. 

What help they get depends on their eligible needs. The council or trust can provide services or direct payments so the person you care for can arrange their own care and support.

Services might include:

• disability equipment or home adaptations
• help from a care worker with things such as washing, dressing or eating
• residential care 
• access to day centres.

If you’re under 18 and help to look after a relative with an illness or disability, then you’re a young carer. It’s important that you decide how much and what type of care you want to give, and whether you want to be acarerat all.

You shouldn’t be doing the same things as adult carers, or spending most of your time caring for someone else. Disabled adults are entitled to support from their local council or trust, so it’s important they have their ownneeds assessmentto find out what help they can get.

As a young carer, your carer’s assessment will be different to the oneadult carers have.It will look at the help you and your family need. It can also decide whether it’s appropriate for you to be acarer, and whether you want to continue in your caring role. 

The assessor must look at your education, training and leisure opportunities, and thoughts about the future. They should involveyou, your parents and anyone else you want to include. You should get a written record of the assessment including whether the council thinks you need support and whether they’ll provide it. 

If you’re 16 or over and not in full-time education, you may be eligible for help finding work and benefits such as Carer’s Allowance.

If you’re a parent who cares for a disabled child, you’re entitled to a parent carer’s need assessment. It’s your chance to talk about the things that could make looking after your child easier. You may get services ordirect payments to meet your assessed needs. 

If your local council or trust thinks you may need support as acarer, then it must offer you an assessment. If it doesn’t, you can request one.

The assessment must take in account:

• whether you have needs for support, and what those needs are
• how much support you’re giving your child and whether you’re willing or able to give the same level of support in future. It’s important to be realistic about what you can do
• your wellbeing
• the need to safeguard the child being cared for, and any other children you have responsibility for.

This assessment can be combined with one for your disabled child, if you wish, and carried out by the same person.

If you care for a disabled child but you’re not their parent - for example, if you’re their grandparent - you don’t have the right to a parent carer’s need assessment. However, you can still request acarer’s assessment to find out what help you may be entitled to.

Acarer’s assessment is specific for adult carers who are 18 or older and is separate from a needs assessment. It is an opportunity for you to put forward what additional support you might need to make your life easier as acarer. This could be anything from help with taxi fares to hospital appointments, to temporary care cover put in place so that you can have a break every so often. For more information, see ‘What is a carer’s assessment?’