Eligibility and access to community care services

If you feel that you need help or support, or if you care for someone who does, then you will want to know what services you might be eligible for and how these will be arranged.

The Eligibility and Fair Access to Community Care Policies work together to make sure that we get the balance right between treating people individually and also making sure that we are fair and consistent in our approach overall. Importantly, they also allow the Health and Social Care Partnership to manage overall demand with the money it has available.

The Eligibility Criteria for Community Care (Adults) Policy explains how services are prioritised for people at the highest levels of risk. These are called “eligible needs”. This ensures that people at the greatest need receive the services they require to stay safe in the community. The Eligibility Criteria also explains how people can receive services to prevent risks becoming more severe.

The Fair Access to Community Care (Adults) Policy explains how services will be arranged for people, to meet their eligible needs. It ensures that personal budgets are calculated fairly and consistently. It describes how different services types will be used and how people can use Self Directed Support for personal choice.

In short:

Eligibility Criteria are used to help decide who we will provide services to and what those services should be for.

The Fair Access Policy is used to help decide what types of services are available and how they will be arranged. It also explains about choice.
The policies that explain this can be downloaded using the links on this webpage. A shorter and simpler summary is also available on request, as are “read-easy” summaries for people who might find these useful.

If you would prefer to speak to someone direct about this, please contact your Social Worker or contact the Social Work Adult Intake Service on tel:0141 355 2200.