Support from adult social care
Before contacting us to discuss your care needs, it may save you time to view all the borough wide support and services you can access on our Tower Hamlets Connect website, including:
Tower Hamlets Connect (TH Connect) is your first point of contact for adult social care.
If you are concerned for the safety of someone you think may be experiencing abuse or neglect contact us
immediately.
My first conversation with TH Connect
One of the best ways to tell us about your circumstances is to fill out an online TH Connect self-assessment form. It’s the most effective way to get in touch because:
- you can complete it in your own time
- you know your concerns and needs best
- you may not have to wait for the council to get back to you
- your detailed responses allow THC to respond quicker and more effectively, to your circumstances.
Complete a self assessment form
After receiving your assessment, TH Connect may schedule a call with you to discuss your needs as well as the things you can still do. They will usually take no longer than three days to contact you back. They will then offer support, advice and suggestions to help you live as independently and fully as possible, including getting:
- support from your family and friends
- support from local organisations and services
- support from specialist services (such as a physiotherapist, dietician, debt management advisor and more).
Friends or family are welcome to be involved from the start if you feel they can offer extra support.
If you are still struggling to manage with day-to-day tasks after receiving advice and information, you may be offered reablement service support.
The same support can be provided to you by the sight and hearing team if you have sensory needs.
If options need to be explored other than the advice and information provided by THC, or the reablement service, they may ask the initial assessment team to contact you for a care and support needs assessment.
Learn more about eligibility for adult social care support.
Adult social care - A step by step guide
Contact
You can contact TH Connect directly if you are having problems completing a self-assessment form.
Email: enquiry@towerhamletsconnect.org
Tel: 0300 303 6070 (weekdays, 9am to 5pm)
My first Care Act 2014 assessment
The initial assessment team will schedule a meeting with you to complete a care and support needs assessment. The Government's Care Act 2014 sets out local authorities' duties when assessing people's care and support needs. Response times will vary depending on your circumstances.
It is completed by a social care practitioner who, depending on your needs, will be either a social worker, occupational therapist or first response officer.
Friends or family members are welcome to attend the assessment if they can offer extra support.
You can also have someone represent you as an independent advocate during assessments and care and support planning. Advocacy empowers people by giving them a voice and support to speak for themselves. This service is free.
Everyone has different needs so each assessment is different. Your assessment should be led by you, at your own pace. The process is flexible and adapted to meet your needs.
Learn more about the assessment process and occupational therapy assessments.
The practitioner will discuss the outcome of the assessment and explain recommended options to help you stay independent in line with our legal obligation to prevent, delay and reduce the need for care. They will look at:
- family, friends and community support available to you
- the need for short-term reablement support
- the use of equipment or technological devices
- possible changes to make your home environment more accessible.
They will also let you know if you meet the national eligibility criteria that must be met to receive long-term support from adult social care.
If the assessment finds you meet the eligibility criteria and you need care and support from us, you will be offered a long-term support plan that sets out the care you need.
If the assessment concludes you are not eligible for support by law, we will still offer information, advice and support to help you continue to live independently with a good quality of life.
Creating my first support plan and personal budget
If your initial assessment confirms you need long-term support from us, the social care practitioner will work closely with you to create a support plan, with clear goals, and support tailored to your needs.
Your plan will include detailed information about the costs of each service you use. This is your personal budget and is money from the council to help you meet your social care needs.
Services such as reablement are free. You may be asked to contribute towards the cost of others that are not free such as care at home.
Learn more about paying for care and support
Your support plan will outline how you prefer to use your personal budget.
Learn more about personal budgets
The practitioner will also assess if you are eligible for ‘NHS continuing health care’ funding to pay for the care and support. Any NHS funding you may receive will be explained in your support plan.
Learn more about NHS continuing health care
Our strategy to improve care together
We want to create a better future for adult social care, exploring what we are good at and what we must improve in moving forward.
Based on your feedback, the vision for this strategy is:
To provide adult social care that helps people in need of support achieve their goals, be connected to others and be as independent as possible.