Care and support is a term used to describe the help some adults need when they are unable to perform their day-to-day tasks. This can be due to:

• physical disability
• learning disability
• long-term condition
• frailty due to old age
• mental ill health
• or if they care for an adult friend or family member and this is impacting on their own well-being

Care and support can be given by family members and friends, by us, or by other organisations.

Find out if you are eligible for care and support

Before we can offer you care and support, we have to see if you are eligible to receive them, following an assessment of your care needs.

We will meet your needs if a care needs assessment shows that:

• your needs arise from, or are related to, a physical or mental impairment or illness
• as a result of your needs, you are unable to achieve two or more outcomes (day to day activities) 
• as a consequence there is, or is likely to be, a sufficient impact on your well-being

If you are a carer you will have eligible needs if:

• your needs arise as a consequence of providing necessary care for an adult - it must be necessary care that a person can’t provide for themselves.
• the effect of your needs is that any of the circumstances

Eligibility for support is based on your needs and how these affect your well-being. The assessment of your needs is made regardless of whether or not the person you care for has eligible needs. 

Contact Adult Social Care on 01234 267422 to get an assessment.

Self-assessment: do it yourself online

An assessment is a way to help us work out what social care help and support you might need. For example, you or someone you know, may be struggling to carry out day-to-day tasks like having a bath or using the stairs. A self-assessment is a set of questions that you complete, using an online form.

It can be done in the comfort of your own home. Carers, friends or family can fill in the self-assessment for you. If this is the case, we will always contact you to check if you have agreed to this.

You can complete a self-assessment if you are over 18 years old and live in Bedford Borough. Check the map of Bedford Borough to see if you live in the area.

Social care needs self-assessment

Carer's self-assessment

If you are a carer looking after an elderly, sick or disabled relative, friend or neighbour and would like to see if you are entitled to any support, you can complete this online carers self-assessment:

Carer's self-assessment.

Points to remember

• We will always assess needs before we arrange and pay for services. Sometimes we do this by telephone and sometimes in person by visiting people. It depends on your individual situation.
• If you have needs we can only arrange services for people who qualify for our help, but we will in all cases provide information and advice if you do not meet the eligibility criteria.  
• The service we provide will be reviewed on a regular basis and adjusted according to your needs and assessment.
• Everybody will receive a financial assessment and benefits advice.
• Most people pay a contribution towards the cost of residential or nursing home care. We may ask people who qualify for home care or day services to pay a charge, based on their income and savings, towards the cost. People who have less income than the allowance we make for their expenses do not need to pay.