Adults services

• What's new: adults health & wellbeing
• Who we can help
• How we decide who can receive help
• Finding out if you can receive help

What's new: adults health & wellbeing

Tower Hamlets Council's adults health and wellbeing directorate was launched on 1st April 2007. The directorate brings together the adult social care functions of the council (previously Social Services), the homeless and housing advice service which was previously part of housing, and the supporting people function, also previously located in housing.

Tower Hamlets Adults Health and Wellbeing provides care, support and assistance to a wide range of people who live in the borough. We have a legal responsibility to ensure the welfare and protection of vulnerable adults.

Over 1000 people are referred each month. The services we provide range from giving advice and information through to long-term residential care. Services can be provided directly by the council, through voluntary and independent sector organisations or by working with health teams.

We provide support and care for adults within the borough but most of the department's work is concentrated on helping the most dependent sections of the community. These include the elderly, people with physical or learning disabilities or mental health problems.

Services that we can provide include:

• home care
• meals on wheels
• day care
• support for people with mobility difficulties
• aids and adaptations for people with disabilities
• short term breaks for adults
• residential care for adults
• homelessness services
• housing advice service

Access to these services usually follows an assessment of need. Following this assessment, a care plan is agreed, setting out what services are to be provided.

Who we can help

To be eligible for services, you must be 18 or over and normally a Tower Hamlets’ resident. You may also qualify if you are a patient in a Tower Hamlets’ hospital but do not live in the borough and no other council has responsibility for your care. You must also have needs arising from:

• frailty due to age
• physical disability, impairment or life-limiting illness
• sensory disability or impairment
• learning disability or impairment
• cognitive disability or impairment
• substance misuse (drugs and alcohol)
• mental health difficulties
• providing substantial and regular care to somebody with one or more of the above difficulties.

How we decide who can receive help

When deciding who receives help we use the ‘Fair Access to Care Services’ rules. The government says all councils must use these rules so that everyone, no matter where they live, is treated in the same way. The government also makes sure that the people who are in most need receive services. According to the rules, eligibility for services depends on the level of risk to your independence in four areas:

• your health and safety, including freedom from harm,
• abuse and neglect
• your autonomy and freedom to make choices
• your ability to manage personal and other daily routines
• your involvement in work, family and wider community life.

The risk to your independence, if your needs for care are not met, will be categorised into one of four bands - critical, substantial, moderate or low. Councils cannot help everyone who asks for support. In Tower Hamlets, we will provide you with services if your ability to live independently would otherwise be at substantial risk.

If you do not reach the ‘substantial’ level but still wish to have services, you will need to arrange your own care. Wherever possible a member of council staff will offer information about organisations that may be able to help or advise you. Social services also funds a number of voluntary sector organisations to provide a wide range of support that anyone can access, including advocacy, advice, befriending, day support, activities, and lunch clubs.

Finding out if you can receive help

The first step in finding out if you, or someone else, are eligible for help is to call the Social Care Team or visit your Local One Stop Shop. You can ask for a social services assessment either in person, by letter or by telephone. You can also ask a relative or friend to request this for you.

The council’s telephone Contact Centre has friendly and trained staff to answer your enquiries about social services for adults. Help and advice for customers whose first language is not English is also available.

Tower Hamlets provides a wide range of services to assist individuals and families with personal and social problems. In adult services we offer advice, support and services to vulnerable adults and their carers.

The division carries out assessments of any adult who may require these community care services in order to arrange for an appropriate package of care to be provided either by the local authority or by other agencies on our behalf.

Assessment summaries are available to both professionals and service users.

The service areas that make up the adult division's work include:

• home care and equipment for daily living
• day centres
• residential and nursing care
• adaptations to people's homes
• sheltered housing
• home meals service.

Adults with a wide range of needs come to us for assistance. They include people with disabilities, help for carers, the elderly, those with mental health issues and people involved in alcohol and drug misuse.

In addition to providing more packages of care to people in their homes, we are also focusing on enabling people who care for vulnerable adults and children to access services for themselves.