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Health and social care assessments

To find out what sort of help you could get you will need to have a health and social care assessment. You can get one from your local social services team. This is your opportunity to tell social services what will make your everyday life easier. For example, you might need help with cleaning or would find it useful if you had a bath rail fitted. You may be entitled to financial help to maintain your own home.

You may also be entitled to 'direct payments'. These are local council payments available for anyone who has been assessed as needing help from social services. You can use them to buy in services instead of receiving them from the local council. For example, direct payments could be used to pay a home help.

Health and social care assessments in your local area

You can find out about health and social care assessments in your local area and you may be able to apply for one online. The following link will let you enter details of where you live and then take you to your local authority website.

• Find out about health and social care assessments in your local area Opens new window

• NHS 24: health information and advice for Scotland Opens new window

Care in your own home

Care in your own home is offered to people who require assistance with personal care such as washing, dressing, cooking, cleaning, or help managing finances.

You can find out about home care in your local area. The following link will let you enter details of where you live and then take you to your local authority website.

• Find out about care in your own home Opens new window

Making your home easier to live in

You may find making adaptations to your home – like adding hand rails, draught excluders or bath hoists – useful. You can get advice from your local social services department and, in some cases, receive financial assistance to alter your home.

• Home and housing options (disabled people section)

Care and Repair

Care and Repair provides advice and help for homeowners so they can repair, improve or adapt their homes and stay comfortably in their community.

Care and Repair in Scotland will supervise the work to your home.

Project staff will:

• give advice
• recommend local tradesmen
• help access funding (usually grants from local councils)
• organise major renovation work

A number of projects include small repair services, including handyman schemes that carry out very small repairs that might otherwise be expensive.

• Find your local council

• Care and Repair England website Opens new window

• Care & Repair Cymru website Opens new window

• Care & Repair Forum Scotland website Opens new window

Improvements and Repair Grants System

Your local council may be able to help you with the cost of improving, adapting or repairing your home. This help is available to both homeowners and private tenants.

In most cases it is up to the local council to decide whether to give a grant. But there are some circumstances in which the council must award a grant.

The amount of grant available to you will depend on your income and on the type of work that needs to be done. You will not have to pay tax on these grants.

Your local council is responsible for handling the grant. They will also be able to give you more information about what help may be available in your area.

You may also be able to get financial help to warm your home. This may include:

• loft, cavity wall and hot water tank insulation
• draught proofing
• electric storage heaters

• Help with heating your home

• In retirement benefits (money, tax and benefits section)

Employing a carer or personal assistant

If you're looking for a care worker to help you live independently at home, you may get one through your local social services department. Or you may get one though a home care agency or choose to employ someone directly.

Shopping and home deliveries

If shopping is difficult at times, you might want to consider internet shopping. Some supermarkets and shops deliver shopping to your door.

Warm Front scheme and other support

You may be able to get financial help to warm your home. This may include:

You may also get financial help such as Winter Fuel Payment or Cold Weather Payment.

• Help with heating your home

• Financial support in retirement (money, tax and benefits section)

Support when you are caring for someone

If you are a carer you may benefit from getting some help at home. It might be useful if the person you care for visited a day centre for a few hours to let you have some personal time. You may also benefit from some home help like cleaning.

More useful links

• Meals at home services (home and community section)

• Find out about community alarm services locally Opens new window

Useful contacts

• Home contacts

• Care and community contacts