Requesting Adult Social Care Support

1. Raising a Safeguarding Concern

Adults

Wherever possible a referral should be made using the online Multi-Agency Safeguarding Adults Referral Form.

Alternatively, if you are unable to use this form or the situation is urgent the Adult Safeguarding Team can be contacted directly:

Tel: 01793 463555
E-mail: adultsafeguarding@swindon.gov.uk

Note: The Adult Safeguarding Team are available Monday-Friday 8.30am – 5pm. Outside of office hours urgent concerns only can be referred through the Emergency Duty Service using 01793 436699.

If you are concerned that an adult is in imminent danger from abuse or neglect, or that a criminal act has taken place you should contact the police by dialing 999.

Children

Wherever possible concerns about a child should be raised using the Multi-Agency Safeguarding Hub (MASH) Referral Form. This can be down loaded from the Swindon Local Safeguarding Children Board website by clicking here.

Alternatively, if you are unable to use this form or the situation is urgent the MASH can be contacted directly:

Tel: 01793 466903
E-mail: Swindonmash@swindon.gov.uk

Note: The MASH are available Monday-Friday 8.30am – 4.40pm (4pm on a Friday). Outside of office hours urgent concerns only can be referred through the Emergency Duty Service using 01793 436699.

If you are concerned that a child is in imminent danger from abuse or neglect, or that a criminal act has taken place you should contact the police by dialing 999.

2. Steps to Consider before Contacting Adult Social Care

Information and Advice

If the purpose of the contact is to access information and advice about adult Care and Support there are a range of alternative options available.

Online

Online information is available via The Local Offer.

By telephone

You can speak to Adult Social Care by calling 01793 463333 (option 2).

Swindon Advice and Information Service

Sanford House is a local resource designed to help you find the right information, advice and support for your situation.

Drop in to talk to one of their information guides, access one of the organisations listed or use the free public access touch screen computers to look up information online. Confidential space is also available if you would prefer to talk through your situation with an advisor.

Sanford House
Sanford Street
Swindon SN1 1HE

Centre opening hours are: Mon-Fri, 9.30am-4.30pm.

For more information about how to access the centre, email SAASC@swindon.cabnet.org.uk or call reception on: (01793) 466633.

The centre also provides a link to adult health, wellbeing and support services in Swindon and is home to the following organisations: Citizens Advice Service Swindon, Swindon Carers Centre, Alzheimer's Society, Swindon Mind, Swindon Advocacy Movement, Healthwatch Swindon, Enham Trust, Wiltshire Law Centre, DASH, LIFT Psychology, Royal Voluntary Service, Shopmobility.

For information about these organisations see below.

Swindon Citizens Advice Services

Swindon Citizens Advice Services provide free, confidential and impartial advice and campaign on big issues affecting people's lives. They are an independent charity and part of the Citizens Advice network across England and Wales. People come to CAS with all sorts of issues. You may have money, benefit, housing or employment problems. You may be facing a crisis, or just considering your options.

Find out more at their website by clicking here.

The following are a list of Swindon Citizens Advice Services locations, and details of their drop in sessions:

Main Office
Sanford House
College Street Entrance
Swindon
SN1 1HE

Drop in: Monday and Wednesday 9.30am-4pm, Tuesday, Thursday and Friday 9.30am-1.30pm.

East Swindon Citizens Advice
Cavendish Square
Park South
Swindon
SL3 2LZ

Drop in: Tuesday 10am-1pm, Thursday 10am-1pm.

North Swindon Advice Point
Pinetrees Community Centre
The Circle
Pinehurst
Swindon
SN2 1QR

Drop in: Monday 10am-1pm, Wednesday 10am-1pm.

Swindon Carers Centre

Swindon Carers Centre is a charitable organisation, which is part of the Carers Trust Network, and were established to provide help and support to the 21,000 carers in Swindon.

Sanford House
Sanford Street
Swindon
SN1 1HE

Tel: 01793 531133
E-mail: info@swindoncarers.org.uk
Website: www.swindoncarers.org.uk/

Swindon MIND

Swindon MIND provide support and services to empower anyone experiencing a mental health problem in Swindon. They campaign to improve services, raise awareness and promote understanding.

Sanford House
Sanford Street
Swindon
SN1 1HE

Tel: 01793 432031
E-mail: admin@sgmind.org.uk
Website: www.sgmind.org.uk/

Healthwatch Swindon

Healthwatch gives people a powerful voice locally and nationally. At a local level, Healthwatch Swindon works to help local people get the best out of local health and social care services.

Swindon Advice and Support Centre
Sanford Street
Swindon
SN1 1HE

Tel: 01793497777
E-mail: info@healthwatchswindon.org.uk
Website: www.healthwatchswindon.org.uk/

Wiltshire Law Centre

The Wiltshire Law Centre are a registered charity that provides FREE confidential advice on: Housing, Anti Social Behaviour Injunctions, Employment, Welfare Benefits and Debt.

Sanford House
Sanford Street
Swindon
SN1 1HE

Tel: 01793 486926
Website: wiltslawcentre.org.uk/

Enham Trust

The Enham Trust supports people who are eligible for funding from adult social care. Enham Trust equips vulnerable service users with the tools to live the life they want, regardless of impairments.

Sanford House
Sanford Street
Swindon
SN1 1HE

Website: www.enhamtrust.org.uk/

Swindon Shopmobility

Swindon Shopmobility provide mobility scooters and powered & manual wheelchairs to help people with limited mobility to shop and use other facilities in the town centre.

Sanford House
Sanford Street
Swindon
SN1 1HE

Tel: 07379 689128
E-mail: Shopmobility@vas-swindon.org
Website: vas-swindon.org/services/shopmobility/

DASH (Discovering Autism Spectrum Happiness)

DASH (Discovering Autistic Spectrum Happiness) is an independent local charity whose mission is to improve the quality of life of adults of working age with Asperger's and other high functioning Autistic Spectrum Conditions living in Swindon.

Sanford House
Sanford Street
Swindon
SN1 1HE

Tel: 07554 665 715
E-mail: contactdashswindon@gmail.com

Lift Psychology

LIFT have been providing psychological services to the people of Swindon for the past 20 years and pioneered Primary Care Psychology services within the country.

They offer a high quality service that includes traditional Improving Access to Psychological Therapies (IAPT) interventions plus additional support.

Sanford House
Sanford Street
Swindon
SN1 1HE

Tel: 01793 836836
E-mail: awp.lift-psychology@nhs.net

Royal Voluntary Service

The Royal Voluntary Service is a national charity built on local volunteering, giving support to people who need it in our hospitals and communities.

Sanford House
Sanford Street
Swindon
SN1 1HE

Alzheimer's Society

The Alzheimer's Society are here for anyone worried about or affected by dementia. They provide information and support, fund medical and social research, and campaign for better quality of life for people with dementia and greater understanding of the condition.

Sanford House
Sanford Street
Swindon
SN1 1HE

Tel: 01793485404
E-mail: swindon@alzheimers.org.uk

Swindon Advocacy Movement (SAM)

SAM provides a free, independent and accessible advocacy service in Swindon.

Sanford House
Swindon
SN1 1HE

Tel: 01793 542266
E-mail: info@swindonadvocacy.org.uk
Website: www.swindonadvocacy.org.uk/

Financial Assessment

Click here to see the answers to some frequently asked questions around financial assessment, including questions relating to Disabled Facilities Grants.

You can also find a range of helpful leaflets in the Local Resource area by clicking here.

National information and advice contacts

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.

Understanding the information and advice

If 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 us.

Consent

Referral

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

The person or carer the referral relates to is making the referral;
The person or carer the referral relates to has given their consent to the referral; or
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
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:

The person or carer to whom it relates is the one requesting it;
The person or carer to whom the information relates has given consent for it to be shared with the person requesting it; or
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;
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
The person is at risk of harm from abuse or neglect.

What can be provided without consent

Unless one of the above situations applies only general information and advice about adult Care and Support can be provided.

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

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.

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.

If you make a referral the local authority will need to establish what prevention services have been accessed or explored already and which prevention services may be beneficial in order to fulfill its legal responsibilities around prevention.

3. Requesting Adult Social Care Support

Our Initial Contact Team is the first point of contact for all referrals and general enquiries relating to Adult Social Care. You can contact them on 01793 463 333 (option 2) from 9am to 5pm, Monday to Thursday and 9am to 4.30pm Friday (except on public holidays). In an emergency, out of these hours, phone the Emergency Duty Team on 01793 436699.

When you contact us we'll discuss your situation over the phone, check that we've got all of the facts straight and discuss what will happen next.

This could range from providing you with good information or advice to taking a referral for a needs assessment.

4. What Makes a Good Referral

Knowing what information to provide in a referral

Under the Care Act an assessment begins as soon as the Local Authority receives information relating to the person. How the assessment progresses will very much depend on the quality and comprehensiveness of the information provided at the referral stage. As such, it is important that the person making the referral provides the right information in the right way, so that:

The service receiving the referral can determine the best course of action following referral; and
The person does not have to unnecessarily repeat what they have said should their assessment progress into a more prolonged intervention.

If the Initial Contact Team determines that a referral for a needs assessment is the best course of action the following information will be required:

All personal details, including the persons full name (and also preferred name or previous surname), address and preferred contact details, date of birth, national insurance number and NHS number;
The name, relationship and contact details of the person making the referral (if not the person themselves);
When and how the person consented to the referral;
If the person has not consented to the referral, was a mental capacity assessment carried out and is the referral being made under Best Interests;
What the presenting issue is from the person's perspective and what they would like to happen;
What the presenting issue is from the referrer's point of view (if the referrer is not the person) and what action they may recommend;
What options have been considered with the person to resolve the issue so far, including what support the person has had from family and community networks;
What information and advice has been provided to the person or what information and advice may be required;
What prevention services have been used, considered or may be of benefit;
Any specific communication needs of the person that need to be considered so they can understand and be involved in any adult Care and Support process;
Whether the person is likely to have substantial difficulty in any adult Care and Support process, and if so whether an independent advocate has been considered;
Details of any previous or current Care and Support services (whether the Local Authority is providing them or not);
With the person's consent the name and contact details of anyone involved in their life who should be involved in any assessment (family member, friend or professional); and
Any other information deemed relevant by the person or referrer (if the referrer is not the person).

Missing information

If any of the above information is not available when the referral is being made the referrer may be asked to make further contact to provide the additional information required.