Working with Adult Social Care clients
Working with an Adult Social Care client
If a person is eligible, they may get help towards the cost of receiving care and support within their home.
Find out more: Paying for care at home
Teams in Adult Social Care
A range of teams in Adult Social Care support people with care and support needs in East Sussex:
- Neighbourhood Support Teams: assess people’s care needs and arrange support. A social worker from this team may arrange a PA on behalf of the client.
- Occupational therapists: can assess whether a client’s home is safe and recommend adjustments.
- Mental health teams: support clients with mental health difficulties, including dementia and substance misuse. This may include help with housing and the legal system.
- Learning disabilities team: provide support tailored for clients with a learning disability. They can also help find suitable housing.
- Direct payments team: provide support to clients who using their direct payment funding to buy home or day care and choose to have an account managed by the council.
- Health and Social Care Connect (HSCC): is our contact centre for Adult Social Care, open 8am to 8pm, 7 days a week. See: Contact Adult Social Care
If you are a PA supporting one of our clients, you are likely to have contact with one of these teams. For example, when setting up care arrangements or informing them that a client’s care needs have changed.
Clients who receive direct payments
Many clients pay for their services using direct payments. This is a budget which Adult Social Care gives the client so they can organise and buy their own care and support.
You can find out more about how clients use direct payments to employ a PA in our guide: Direct payments.
Independent Lives is the council’s commissioned direct payment support service to support clients who have a PA.
Adult Social Care leaflets and factsheets
Our leaflets and factsheets may be useful to share with the clients you support: Leaflets and factsheets
Safeguarding and mental capacity of clients
Safeguarding
Safeguarding means protecting someone’s right to live in safety, free from abuse and neglect. There are many different types of abuse.
Everyone has a duty to report abuse or neglect. This is called reporting a safeguarding concern.
You can view the Sussex Safeguarding adults policy and procedures which cover East and West Sussex and Brighton and Hove,
If you are worried that a client is being abused, neglected or exploited, phone Health and Social Care Connect (HSCC) on 0345 60 80 191.
We also provide training on identifying safeguarding concerns on the East Sussex Learning Portal.
Mental capacity
Mental capacity is the ability to make your own decisions. If someone appears to lack mental capacity, Adult Social Care will do a mental capacity assessment. If this shows the person does not have mental capacity, a person or organisation will be appointed to manage their affairs.
The Mental Capacity Act is the law we must follow. It has five key principles:
- Assume people have capacity.
- Provide support for people to make decisions for themselves.
- Remember people who make unwise decisions may still have capacity.
- Actions taken must be in the best interests of the person who lacks capacity.
- The less restrictive option must be considered first.
If you support a client who lacks capacity, it is important to remember that they may have capacity to make some decisions. Any actions taken on their behalf must be in their best interests. For more information see: Mental capacity.