Care at home

The Care at Home Service aims to help people to live at home independently, safely and for as long as possible.

If you or a relative are living in the community and need help at home, the first thing you need to do is call for an assessment.

If you or the person you are referring to us meets our eligibility criteria for support, our Social Work Contact Centre will request an assessment of your/their needs.

If you/they do not meet the critical or substantial need definition within the eligibility criteria, but do need some other form of support, we can offer information on other organisations that may be able to assist.

If you or a relative is in Hospital and you/they require support to enable you/them to return home, the Hospital will make a referral to us for an assessment on your/their behalf.

Many of the services we provide are free but there are charges for some.

Care at Home is there to support you or your family member if you/they have a disability, a chronic illness, a mental health illness or dementia.

We can provide help to ensure that you:

• carry on living independently in your/their own home, rather than having to go into a residential home or a nursing home.
• we can provide an assessment of your/their need at home following discharge from hospital to enable you/them to return home safely.
• your carer needs support to enable you to carry on living at home, this is called a carers assessment.

After an assessment our Home Carers can help with personal care needs that you/they are unable to manage independently.

Personal care includes help with aspects of daily living such as:

• Showering
• Dressing
• Eating and Drinking
• Getting up and going to bed
• Using the toilet

Your personal support plan will be designed depending on your abilities and needs. We will speak to you regularly to make sure you are getting the best service. Over time you may need less help or more help. By keeping in touch with you, we can ensure that the service is adjusted to help you achieve your outcomes.

Home Carers are either employed directly by Fife Health and Social Care Partnership or one of our partners and can be identified by an ID badge.

All our Home Carers undertake regular training and are registered with our regulator, the Scottish Social Services Council (SSSC).

We are also registered with the Care Inspectorate who regularly inspect and feedback on the quality of service we provide.

In addition, we work closely with NHS Fife, Police, Scottish Fire and Rescue Service and Community Safety experts to train people in other skills such as continence, dementia care, palliative care, community safety awareness and Fire Safety.