Fair access to care
Eligibility criteria
How we allocate care and support services to adults in Bedfordshire
New fair access arrangements
To comply with new Government policies, we have changed the way we decide who will receive care services in Bedfordshire
As we have to work within a set budget, we cannot provide all the help that people ask for. We have to make careful choices and make sure that we give help in fair way that meets the needs of those at the highest risk. To help us make these choices we use a set of guidelines called "eligibility criteria". These help us place people into one of two bands of need:
1 Critical band - where there is an immediate crisis which threatens a person's current or future independence.
2 Substantial band - where there is a substantial risk to a person's current or future independence.
The text below list these eligibility criteria and show the risks we can meet.
If you, or someone you care for, needs help, please contact us, even if you do not think the need falls within these criteria. If we cannot help, we may be able to suggest other organisations that can.
We also support voluntary organisations that help people at risk and we will refer some people to those organisations for help.
We can only provide help for people at the highest risk of losing their independence. We will keep reviewing our criteria to make sure we help those at the highest risk.
We are now using these criteria to assess all requests for services and to review all care plans.
Critical band
There is a critical risk to a person's current or future independence if one or more of the following applies:
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Life is, or will be, threatened (See note A below) and/or
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Significant health problems have developed or will develop and/or
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There is, or will be, little or no choice and control over vital* aspects of the immediate environment and/or
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Serious neglect or abuse has occured or will occur and/or
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There is, or will be, an inability to carry out vital* personal care and domestic routines and/or
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Vital* involvement in work, education or learning cannot, or will not be sustained and/or
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Vital* social support systems and relationships cannot or will not continue and/or
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Vital* family and other social roles and responsibilities cannot or will not be undertaken.
Please note:
A This means either that there is a threat to that person's life, or that they might be a threat to others
Vital means "necessary to life"
Substantial band
There is a substantial risk to a person's current or future independence if one or more of the following applies:
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there is only partial choice and control over the immediate environment and/or
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Abuse and neglect has occurred or will occur and/or
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There is, or will be, an inability to carry out the majority of personal care or domestic routines and/or
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Involvement in many aspects of work, education or learning cannot or will not be sustained and/or
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The majority of social support systems and relationships cannot or will not be sustained and/or
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The majority of family and other social roles and responsibilities cannot or will not be undertaken
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We would welcome your views on how we can:
Make sure that we help all people who may qualify for services
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Provide information for people who may need services
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Find and help people who are at risk of losing their independence
How does fair access work?
We will give information to anyone who contacts us to ask about our eligibility criteria and the services we provide.
If you think you may need any of our services, we will offer you an assessment. This involves talking to you to find out how you are managing and what problems you have. We may also need to ask your permission to talk to your carers and to any other agencies that are already helping you.
We will also discuss whether we can provide support to your carer.
If we decide that you are eligible, we will provide a package of services for you. We will tailor these services especially for your needs and we will write a care plan describing the services we agree to supply.
We will also tell you about
Direct Payments|, so that if you prefer you may be able to have the money to buy the social care or support you need instead of having services arranged for you.
We will address the financial arrangements at the same time. Some people may not need to pay at all. Others will have to pay for some or all of the services.
If you are not eligible for any service, we will explain this to you and discuss other ways to meet your need.
We will review the care plan each year to see if your situation has changed, whether you still need the service or if you need more support.
If you would like to know more please
contact us| at one of the adult social services offices.