Using storytelling to improve the carers assessment process

We need your help!
Can you help us make our assessment
process better for carers?
See what support is available for carers across Bromley at
http://bromley.mylifeportal.co.uk/carers

Who are we?
• We are:
– Michael Watts
Senior Planning and Development Officer
– Christine Mak
Care Act Lead/Project Lead
• We work for the London Borough of Bromley –
or Bromley Council for ease

Why are we here?
We would like you to
help us improve what we do.
We would like your honest thoughts about
two things that we are currently working on –
1. A new Initial Information Form
2. A changed Carers Assessment Form

But,
before we look at the forms…

* Ron is a fictional character for this presentation.
His story is based on people we have met in our work.
c
This is Ron*.
Ron is 77.
He lives with his wife
Lynette.
Ron worked for 42 years as
a pilot at Biggin Hill
Airport.
Since he retired he loves
playing golf, watching the
planes at the airport &
meeting his friends.

Stage 1.
Ron is
happily
living his
life
Ron’s story

But,
all that changed 2 years ago…

Ron’s changing life
Just before Christmas 2013 Lynette had an accident - she slipped
over on the ice, fractured her hip & banged her head
Since then –
• she can’t move as well as she could – she struggles to cook, get
dressed & wash herself
• she worries about going out – she hasn’t been out for 7 months
• her memory has reduced – she forgets what she’s doing &
where she’s going
And so, Ron now doesn’t leave her on her own. He doesn’t play
golf. He doesn’t watch the planes. And he doesn’t meet his
friends. He does feel lonely, stressed & tired.

Stage 1.
Ron is
happily
living his
life
Ron’s story
Stage 2.
Ron’s life
changed

And then he found help…
After a few words of advice & encouragement from his
friend Mike, Ron asked Carers Bromley for help.
Carers Bromley helped him get support for Lynette at
home to give him a break.
They also helped him understand & accept that as well as
being a husband, a father, a grandfather & her best
friend, he is also now her carer.
And they told him that he is entitled to an assessment of
his own needs through the Council.
After much deliberating, Ron contacted the Council for
help…

Stage 1.
Ron is
happily
living his
life
Ron’s story
Stage 2.
Ron’s life
changed
Stage 3.
Ron asked
for help

Contacting the Council for help
Ron was told there are a two methods that can be used
to contact the Council’s Adult Social Care Service to ask
for help, advice or support:
As Ron likes using his laptop, he decided to complete &
e-mail the form in his own time, when Lynette is asleep.
1.
__
Telephone
them
2.
__
E-mail a form
to them

The first form:
The Initial Information Form

The new form
We launched the new
Initial Information Form
in December 2015.
It looks like this:
And, here’s a printed
copy.

Purpose of the form
This is a way that you can give your details to the
Council.
It can be completed by either a carer or someone who
has care needs.
It will help us to understand you before we carry out a
full assessment of your care and support needs.
It can be downloaded from the Bromley MyLife website at
http://bromley.mylifeportal.co.uk/asciif.

How we created the form
As we started to develop the form, we also look at:
• what people want to tell us
• what other local authorities are doing
• what we need to know
We also spoke with Carers Bromley & a group of people
with osteoporosis to get their views.

Ron went
onto the
Bromley
MyLife
website &
downloaded
the form
Ron filled in
the form &
e-mailed it
to the
Council
The Council
read Ron’s
form &
understood
his life
& his needs
The Council
contacted
Ron to
complete a
Carers
Assessment
Ron filled in the form
1. 2. 3. 4.

The Form – what do you think?
Please spend a few minutes looking at the form &
the cover page – what do you think?
Ask yourself –
1. does it make sense?
2. is it easy to understand & fill in?
3. would you fill it in?
And then share your thoughts…

Ron went
onto the
Bromley
MyLife
website &
downloaded
the form
Ron filled in
the form &
e-mailed it
to the
Council
The Council
read Ron’s
form &
understood
his life
& his needs
The Council
contacted
Ron to
complete a
Carers
Assessment
Back to Ron – Ron filled in the form
1. 2. 3. 4.

Stage 1.
Ron is
happily
living his
life
Ron’s story
Stage 2.
Ron’s life
changed
Stage 3.
Ron asked
for help
Stage 4.
Ron
contacted
the Council

But first, this is what we mean
by a carer…

Definition of ‘Carers’
A carer is
“an adult who provides or intends
to provide care for another adult
(an ‘adult needing care’)”
- Section 10 (3) of the Care Act 2014
This includes Adult carers and Young carers in transition

Carers
Carers now have rights on the same footing as those they
care for, including:
• The wellbeing principle
• An assessment of support needs including new
eligibility criteria based around the carers ability and
willingness to care and the impact of caring on their
daily life
• A support plan
• A personal budget and direct payment

The Carers Assessment
The Common
Core Principles
for working
with carers:

The second form:
The Carers Assessment Form

The Carers Assessment Form
We are rewriting our
current Carers
Assessment Form.
It looks like this:
And, you had a copy sent
to you.

Purpose of the form
This is the form that a member of the Adult Social Care
Service will complete to assess the needs of a carer.
It will determine whether a carer meets the eligibility
criteria for Council funded support. [see next slide]
This form may be sent out to a carer before the
assessment is completed so that the carer has time to
think through their answers.
Some parts will already be filled in from the information
collected through the Initial Information Form.

Carers’ eligibility threshold
Meets the eligibility criteria if:
• Their needs are caused by
providing necessary care for an
adult. As a result:
• their health is at risk
• or they are unable to achieve
specified outcomes
• As a consequence there is or is
likely to be significant impact
on the carer’s well-being
A carer is to be regarded as being unable to
achieve an outcome if the carer:
• is unable to achieve it without assistance
• is able to achieve it without assistance
but doing so causes significant pain,
distress or anxiety, or is likely to
endanger health or safety
The specified outcomes are:
• Carrying out any caring
responsibilities the carer has for a
child
• Providing care to other persons for
whom the carer provides care
• Maintaining a habitable home
environment
• Managing and maintaining
nutrition
• Developing and maintaining family
or other personal relationships
• Engaging in work, training,
education or volunteering
• Making use of necessary facilities
or services in the local community
including recreational facilities or
services
• Engaging in recreational activities

Back to the Carers Assessment Form

The Form – what do you think?
Please tell us your thoughts about -
1. does it make sense?
2. is it easy to understand & fill in?
3. would you fill it in?
4. any general comments & feedback?

Stage 1.
Ron is
happily
living his
life
Ron’s story
Stage 2.
Ron’s life
changed
Stage 3.
Ron asked
for help
Stage 4.
Ron
contacted
the Council
Stage 5.
Ron had a
Carers
Assessment

After the Assessment
Through his Carers Assessment, a number of ideas & support
were given to Ron which he worked with the Council to write
into his own Support Plan. In the plan he was:
• helped to organise more respite for Lynette so that he
could have more time to do things he enjoys
• encouraged to understand the impact that caring for
Lynette has had on his own health
– so he went to see his GP and is now receiving treatment
for a condition he was ignoring
• signposted to a transport company so he could get to the
airport a little easier as he found driving & using buses
harder*
* and sometimes Lynette
went with him too

Stage 1.
Ron is
happily
living his
life
Ron’s story
Stage 2.
Ron’s life
changed
Stage 3.
Ron asked
for help
Stage 4.
Ron
contacted
the Council
Stage 5.
Ron had a
Carers
Assessment
Stage 6.
Ron got
the support
he needed

c
This is Ron*.
Ron is 77.
He lives with his wife
Lynette.
Ron worked for 42 years as
a pilot at Biggin Hill
Airport.
He’s still caring for Lynette.
He’s still tired.
He’s still feeling stressed.
But he now gets support,
he has a break from caring
& does things he enjoys.

What next?
If you go away & have further
thoughts about the forms,
you send them back to us at
mylife@bromley.gov.uk

Thank you :-)
We really are grateful for your help,
Michael & Christine

Using storytelling to improve the carers assessment process

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