PublicInformationLeaflet

Free Personal& Nursing Care

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Q. What is Free Personal & Nursing Care?

A. Free Personal Care is a legal entitlement for people aged 65 or over who have been assessed as having personal care needs that require services to be put in place. Free Nursing Care is similar but is available to people of all ages who are assessed as requiring nursing care services. The policy allows such people to access personal and nursing care without being charged.

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The Community Care and Health (Scotland) Act 2002 sets out a detailed list of personal care tasks that cannot be charged for. This includes: assistance with personal hygiene, eating and drinking, immobility problems, management of medication and personal safety.

In addition to the above services, various aids may be supplied free of charge by the council, if deemed necessary, to support a person’s health and well-being. These include: specialist equipment such as bath hoists, shower seats, hand rails and other items.

Nursing care is care that involves the knowledge or skills of a qualified nurse. Nursing care includes activities such as administering injections and managing pressure sores.

Q. What care services will not be provided free of charge?

A. Help with housework, laundry or shopping or services outwith your home, such as the cost of attending day care centres, are not defined as personal care services and may therefore be chargeable. These services can be arranged by the council and are subject to a financial assessment. Support with preparing meals will be provided free but the cost of supplying food or pre-prepared meals is chargeable.

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Q. Who can get Free Personal Care?

A. People aged 65 and over who have been assessed by the council as having personal care needs that require services to be

put in place.

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A. People of any age who have been assessed as having needs that require nursing care services to be put in place.

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Q. Who can get Free Nursing Care?

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Q. How do people get Free Personal Care in their own home?

A. Eligibility for Free Personal Care is identified by an assessment of need. The assessment is carried out by a member of staff of the council social work service. Referrals to social work can be made by individuals on their own or by someone else acting on their behalf. This assessment can also take place before or after discharge from hospital.

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Q. How do people get Free Personal and Nursing Care in a care home?

A. When admission to a care home is being considered by the council then the council will need to decide if the person qualifies for Free Personal and Nursing Care. If the council is not involved in arranging the care home place then they should be contacted to arrange an assessment to see if the person qualifies for Free Personal and Nursing Care. The assessment will always be based on the needs of the person and can take place either before or after admission to the care home. However, Free Personal and Nursing Care payments will only begin when an assessment has been carried out and a contract is in place with the care home. It is not possible to have Free Personal and Nursing Care payments backdated to a point before the contract is in place.

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A. The council’s social work department will either undertake or organise an assessment. The assessment will look at what the person’s needs are and how they can best be met. A person’s needs can change over time, even over relatively short timescales. For example, following discharge from hospital there may be a need for a certain level of service, which could be different after the person recuperates. This would prompt a review of the person’s needs. Unpaid carers who provide a substantial amount of care on a regular basis are entitled to a carer’s assessment.

Q. What is an assessment?

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Q. How long will it take to be assessed?

A. There is no set timescale for assessments to be undertaken. The council should be able to say what the waiting time is for an assessment. If the person’s circumstances worsen or become more urgent then the council’s social work department should be informed.

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A. All councils have criteria which recognise urgency and risk as factors in determining eligibility for services. Those at highest risk are more likely to receive Free Personal and Nursing Care services or to receive them sooner.

Q. Will everyone get Free Personal and Nursing Care services following assessment?

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A. For those who are assessed as being at critical or substantial risk there is a maximum waiting time of six weeks, from confirmation of need to the delivery of Free Personal and Nursing Care services. Confirmation of need means the point at which a person’s need for services is identified following a care needs assessment or review. Whilst Free Personal and Nursing Care services should be provided within six weeks for people assessed as being at critical or substantial risk, some elements of the care package, such as specialist equipment or adaptations, may take longer to deliver. Equally, individuals assessed as being at greatest risk will normally have a care package in place within a matter of days.

Q. How long will it take to receive services?

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Q. What if a person does not appear to be at critical or substantial risk?

A. It is the council’s responsibility to assess each individual and consider whether their needs call for the provision of social care services. People who are not at critical or substantial risk may still have needs for some personal care or other social care services. Councils are expected to have in place clear arrangements for meeting, managing or reviewing these needs. This could involve providing or referring to preventative or other support services, or setting a clear timescale for reviewing needs. It could also be the provision of advice about alternative sources of support.

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A. If Free Personal and Nursing Care is refused the reasons for the decision should be given. If a person wishes to complain about a decision they can use the council’s social work complaints procedure. Details of this are available from the council.

Q. What if Free Personal and Nursing Care is refused?

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Q. Who provides Free Personal Care to individuals in their own homes?

A. The services a person receives at home will be provided either by the council’s own staff or by the staff of an external organisation contracted by the council. The council will work with the service user and care providers to determine what level of care requires to be delivered. The services a person receives will be detailed in their individual care plan, which will have been discussed with them. People living at home can, as an alternative, ask the council to identify what money is available to support their personal care needs and then come to a view

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about how best that money should be spent. This is known as Self Directed Support. It may be that an individual chooses to receive a sum of money to purchase their care directly from a care provider of their choice (a direct payment) or it may be that an individual would just like more of a say over who delivers their care and then leave it to the council to make the arrangements. More information on this is available from the council.

CONTACTS• Currentpaymentlevelsforpersonalandnursingcarecan

be found at the Scottish Government website or telephone 0131 244 5403http://www.scotland.gov.uk/Topics/Health/care/17655/FAQs

• CareInformationScotland– http://www.careinfoscotland.co.uk Telephone 0845 6001 001

• ScottishHelplineforOlderPeople(SHOP) http://www.olderpeoplescotland.co.uk/ Telephone 0845 125 9732

w w w . s c o t l a n d . g o v . u k

© Crown copyright 2010

ISBN: 978-0-7559-8199-1

This document is also available on the Scottish Government website: www.scotland.gov.uk

The Scottish Government Community Care Division St Andrews House Edinburgh EH1 3DG

Tel: 0131 244 5403

RR Donnelley B62795 03/10