Guidance to accompany the Regional Support
Needs Assessment for Older Persons Services
– changing from tenure to need.
Introduction
As you will be aware part of the current warden / scheme
manager role and / or alarm service are funded through the
Supporting People Programme because of where somewhere
lives.
An independent review of the Supporting People Programme
was carried out in 2010. 25 recommendations were made and
accepted. 1 of the recommendations was for all services
funded by Supporting People for older persons to be based on
need and not on where someone lives.
Current tenants/resident/service users receive a service based
on where they live. In order to assess ongoing entitlement a
needs assessment is required. If support needs are identified
then a plan should be developed and the individual will
continue to receive housing-related support funded by the
Supporting People Programme Grant (SPPG). If a need is not
identified then funding will no longer be received housingrelated support. If this happens the options going forward need
to be discussed with the tenant/resident/service user including
signposting where appropriate.
Vale and Cardiff
Draft Guidance to accompany the regional needs assessment for older people
It is therefore very important that the needs assessments are
carried out in a fair and consistent manner. As a result a
regional older persons needs assessment has been developed
through consultation with all providers of older persons services
funded by the SPPG.
How to complete the assessment
The assessment must be carried out in person at a home visit
or interview. It is the tenant/resident/service users own
assessment and should reflect what they want from support
services. They are required to sign the assessment at the end.
The person can have a family relative or friend to provide
support to them, but wherever possible the discussion should
be between the person carrying out the assessment and the
individual tenant/resident/service user. There will be occasions
when an individual is unable to be engaged fully in the
progress, for example due to dementia, in these circumstances
discussions with their carer/relative/appointee/social worker etc
will need to take place and they will need to sign the
representative signature box.
Details of applicant - Mandatory
Fill in all of the details of the applicant.
Primary support needs - Mandatory
In the primary support needs table, identify a maximum of 3
categories. These should be agreed by the individual. You
need to mark at least one support need. As this is an
assessment for an older persons service please do not assume
that there are no other primary needs or that older person will
be an identified need.
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Draft Guidance to accompany the regional needs assessment for older people
Support needs
A list of areas that you may want to discuss with the individual
are included below. These link directly to the 11 support needs
sections and can be directly linked to the Outcomes that SPPG
has to report on.
Only complete the areas where support needs are
identified. Please leave all the others blank or mark as ‘Not
applicable’.
Please see possible questions you may want to discuss with
the tenant/resident/service user. The list is not prescriptive.
1) Feeling safe:
Do you need assistance to…
 Seek advice on appropriately insuring personal valuables?
 Ask visitors at home for ID and to check who people are
before allowing them access to your home?
 To routinely check that windows and doors are locked?
 Carry out neck pendant/wrist pendant checks?
 Understand and know how to use the alarm system?
 Check the smoke detectors?
2) Contributing to the safety and wellbeing of myself and others:
Do you need assistance to…
 Gain an understanding of the Schemes/Accomodations fire
procedure?
 Familiarise yourself with the procedure in case of
emergencies, such as the fire alarm ringing?
 Access services such as social services and care and
repair?
 Report any concerns in relation to safety where you live?
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Draft Guidance to accompany the regional needs assessment for older people
3) Managing accommodation:
Do you need assistance to…
 Settle into new accommodation?
 Access additional services, such as utility companies,
Sky/Virgin TV, Housing benefit/Council tax?
 Deal with correspondence, such as completing forms and
making telephone calls?
 To report repairs and concerns?
 Address neighbour disputes?
4) Managing relationships:
Do you need assistance to…
 Participate in social activities, within the scheme /
accommodation and outside?
 Maintain relationships with family, friends and neighbours?
 Use IT equipment to keep in touch through email, Skype,
Twitter?
5) Feeling part of the community:
6) Managing money:
Do you need assistance to…
 Access benefits advice (housing and council tax benefits),
ensuring maximum income is achieved?
 Address debt issues?
 Set up direct debits and standing orders?
 Understand your income and expenditure?
 Be able to budget?
 Use IT equipment to be able to do online shopping?
7) Engaging in education and learning:
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Draft Guidance to accompany the regional needs assessment for older people
Do you need assistance to…
 Access your hobbies and interests?
 Build your confidence and access learning opportunities?
8) Engaging in employment or voluntary work:
9) Physical health:
10) Mental health:
11) Leading a healthy and active lifestyle:
Other support
Please list in the box all of the other services and support that
the individual is involved with or has support from, including
their contact details. This may identify any additional issues
that need to be taken into consideration.
Comments
This section is for any other comments that do not fit in any of
the other boxes. This could include identifying additional risks,
such as increased risk of isolation. These risks can then either
be managed within the existing service, through the SPPG
funded one or by sign posting to other organisations that could
provide support. If a new risk is identified please complete a
new risk assessment form for the tenant/resident/service user.
Summary and further action
This is an opportunity to identify the needs and actions that
need to take place, or if a need is identified to show that it is
already covered by another organisation or service. Revisit the
form and make sure you and the tenant/resident/service user
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Vale and Cardiff
Draft Guidance to accompany the regional needs assessment for older people
understands the content and if there are any additional needs
that these are clearly stated.
Disclosure
This needs to be read out to the individual by the person
carrying out the assessment needs and signed by the
tenant/resident/service user. If this is not signed then no
signposting or referring to third parties directly can be done.
Signatures
The individual who the assessment relates to should either
read or have the information on the assessment read out to
them and then if they are able to sign and complete the second
signature boxes.
The person who carried out the needs assessment needs to
complete the first signature boxes.
If the individual is unable to either physically sign or does not
have the capacity to understand the assessment then a
representative should have been present and they need to sign
the form and include their relationship to the individual eg
friend, daughter, son, partner, social worker, appointee etc.
Data protection
This needs to either be read by the individual or the person
carrying out the assessment needs to read it out to them.
Storing the assessment
The needs assessment needs to be stored in the individuals
file.
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Draft Guidance to accompany the regional needs assessment for older people
NB: Ongoing reviews will be completed through the
support planning process and outcomes monitoring that is
already in place within your organisation.
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