How to Access the Service (Community Solutions)

1. How the Service can be Accessed

To contact the service by e-mail use: Intaketeam@lbbd.gov.uk.

To contact the service using our online contact form click here.

To contact the service by telephone call: 0208 227 2915.

Safeguarding

Adults

To raise a concern or provide information relating to adult safeguarding by telephone dial 0208 227 2915 (office hours) or 0208 594 8356 (out of hours emergency).

To raise a concern or provide information relating to adult safeguarding by e-mail please send a high priority e-mail to SafeguardingAdults@lbbd.gov.uk.

If you are a professional safeguarding concerns about an adult can be raised using the online contact form by clicking here.

Click here to access the adult safeguarding procedures, including how to recognise abuse and neglect, how to raise a concern and how to record safeguarding information.

Click here to access the Local Safeguarding Adults Board Multi-Agency Safeguarding Procedures.

Children

To raise a concern about a child call 0208 227 3811 or e-mail assessmentteam@lbbd.gov.uk.

Click here to access the Local Safeguarding Children's Board Multi-Agency Procedures.

If you are concerned that an adult or child is in imminent danger from abuse or neglect, or that a criminal act has taken place you should contact the police by dialling 999 and seek immediate medical support if necessary.

2. Steps to Consider before Accessing the Service

Consent

Referral

Referrals for adult Care and Support interventions cannot be taken unless;

  1. The person or carer the referral relates to is making the referral;
  2. The person or carer the referral relates to has given their consent to the referral; or
  3. The person that the referral relates to lacks mental capacity to make a referral and a decision has been made under Best Interests that a referral should be made; or
  4. The person that the referral relates to is at risk of harm from abuse or neglect.

Review

Requests for a review of an existing Care and Support/Support Plan can be made by anyone who has a concern that a plan may not be working as intended or a person's needs have changed. However, the person or carer whose plan it is must be consulted when deciding how to respond to the request, so it is important that wherever possible they know the request is being made from the outset.

Information Sharing

Information relating to a particular person or carer already receiving a Care and Support service cannot be shared unless;

  1. The person or carer to whom it relates is the one requesting it;
  2. The person or carer to whom the information relates has given consent for it to be shared with the person requesting it; or
  3. The person to whom the information relates lacks capacity to consent for it to be shared but has a legally authorised person that agrees to it being shared;
  4. The person to whom the information relates lacks capacity to consent for it to be shared and the Local Authority makes a decision under Best Interests that it should be shared with the person requesting it; or
  5. The person is at risk of harm from abuse or neglect.

What can be provided without consent

Unless one of the above situations applies the service will only be able to provide general information and advice.

Where information is gathered or shared it will be done so with full regard to the Caldicott Principles and local information sharing policies.

Use the tri.x Resources tab to access further information about the Caldicott Principles in the glossary.

Click here to read the Freedom of Information Policy and the Information Sharing Policy.

Click here to access the procedure for providing information about a person.

Consent to Contact/Referral and Mental Capacity

If there are concerns that the person may lack capacity to consent to the contact or referral then a proportionate mental capacity assessment must be carried out to determine whether this is the case. This can be carried out by the person making the contact or referral if they have the necessary skills to do so, or by the Local Authority as part of the referral process.

If the person has capacity to consent following the mental capacity assessment their consent must be obtained before making the contact or referral.

If the person lacks capacity to consent following the mental capacity assessment then a Best Interest Decision must be made to confirm that making the contact or referral will be in their Best Interests.

Click here to access the Mental Capacity section of these procedures, with guidance about assessing capacity and making best interest decisions.

Information and Advice

One of the core functions of the service is to provide good quality information and advice about any aspect of adult Care and Support. This is a duty under section 4 of the Care Act and applies to all local residents and also to people who do not live locally but are considering moving into the area.

Information and advice about adult Care and Support can be accessed in a number of ways:

  1. To access information online via our care and support hub (including the Personal Assistant Finder) click here;
  2. To access information in person visit the
    Heathlands Day Centre,
    520 Heathway,
    Dagenham
    RM10 7SE;
  3. Click here to see the answers to some frequently asked questions around financial assessment, including questions relating to Disabled Facilities Grants.

The following local organisations are also able to provide general information and advice relating to all aspects of adult Care and Support (including finances):

  1. Citizens Advice Bureau Dagenham
    339 Heathway,
    Dagenham
    RM9 5AF
    Telephone: 0208 507 5969
    Website: www.bdcab.org.uk/;
  2. Citizens Advice Bureau Barking
    Barking Learning Centre,
    2 Town Square,
    Barking
    IG11 7NB
    Telephone: 0208 507 5969
    Website: www.bdcab.org.uk/;
  3. Independent Living Agency
    123 Rainham Road North,
    Dagenham
    RM10 7FD
    Telephone: 0208 593 6677
    E-mail: independentlivingagency@btconnect.com
    Online contact form: www.independentlivingagency.org/contact-us
    Website: www.independentlivingagency.org/.

Sometimes it is helpful to contact a well known national organisation with a dedicated information and advice service or help-line. Click here for details of some national organisations offering this service.

Some national organisations do not have dedicated information and advice services but can still provide such support upon request. Click here for a wider range of useful national contacts for adult Care and Support.

Information and advice must be provided in an accessible way so that the person for whom it is intended can best understand and make use of it. 

If you feel the person for whom the information and advice is intended will need additional support to understand it then the Local Authority may be able to facilitate access to an independent advocate. However, there is no duty upon the Local Authority to do so and any decisions will be made on the available evidence and presenting circumstances. To discuss this further please contact the service.

Prevention Services

Prevention services are those services that delay, reduce or prevent the development of Care and Support needs.

Some prevention services are provided by the Local Authority and some are provided by the community or partner organisations, such as health. Prevention services provided by the community or partner organisations can routinely be accessed without Local Authority involvement so it can often be worth exploring these before contacting the Local Authority.

You can find out about local prevention services from the service, or you can find out from one of the dedicated information and advice services available.

  1. To access information online via our care and support hub (including the Personal Assistant Finder) click here;
  2. To access information in person visit the
    Heathlands Day Centre,
    520 Heathway,
    Dagenham
    RM10 7SE.

The service will need to establish during any contact what prevention services have been accessed or explored already and which prevention services may be beneficial in order to fulfil its legal responsibilities around prevention.

Screening Contacts

The service will use a Social Care Screening Tool to screen all contacts.