Choosing the best way to meet your social care needs

Your choice will depend on your situation, but an assessment from us isn't your only option.

Locally available support 

There are many ways to get support within your community that might help you meet your needs. You can use these options directly without a needs assessment.

Live Well Oxfordshire

Our Live Well Oxfordshire guide contains lots of information to support you in living independently in your own community.

You can order a free paper version of the guide, which will be delivered to your door.

Community Links Oxfordshire

Community Links Oxfordshire (CLO) is a local service for all adults (aged over 18), who live in Oxfordshire. The team can provide you with support to improve your well-being by helping you to:

  • connect with your local community
  • make new friends
  • get information and advice 
  • get help at home
  • learn more about the benefits system

You can get this help in different ways, such as:

  • phone
  • in your home
  • email or text message
  • events

The CLO also provides lots of social events for you to enjoy. These include:

  • coffee mornings
  • afternoon teas
  • walk and talk groups
  • cinema clubs

Buy equipment

If you want to buy equipment without an assessment, you can use Live Well Oxfordshire to search for suppliers.

A social care needs assessment

If none of these local services can support you, you could request a needs assessment from us. We will visit your home to learn about your situation. Then we'll help you find what will work for you and your carers. Learn more and request a needs assessment.

The assessment process will take time, so you might want to think about other options in the meantime.

Eligibility for support

We use the national eligibility criteria set out in the Care Act 2014 to find out whether you qualify for support from us. The assessment will help us to understand your needs and decide whether you are eligible. The Care Act 2014 states that 'to quality for support' you must meet the following conditions:

  1. Your needs arise from or are related to physical health, mental health, frailty, impairment or disability.
  2. You have difficulty achieving (or cannot achieve) at least two of the outcomes listed below because of your physical health, mental health, frailty, impairment or disability. These outcomes are everyday tasks or activities:
    • manage and maintain your nutrition
    • manage your personal hygiene
    • use the toilet
    • clothe yourself appropriately
    • use your home safely
    • maintain a habitable home environment
    • develop and maintain family and other personal relationships
    • access and engage in work, training, education or volunteering
    • use facilities or services in your local community, such as public transport
    • carry out caring responsibilities for your child
  3. There is, or there is likely to be a significant impact on your wellbeing as a result of the above criteria. 

Funding your care

The amount you pay will depend on the level of care you need and how much money and property you have. This could include the value of your house if you need to move into a care home.

If you feel that you might be entitled to financial support to help you access care, you can ask for a financial assessment. We will use this to calculate if you need to contribute to the cost of your care and how much.

To get your financial assessment, you'll need to provide us with information about your finances and income. You can do this using our financial assessment form.

If you are unable to fill out our online form or do not have someone who can help you, please contact us.

When we receive your form and supporting documents, we will write to you to tell you the outcome of your assessment. If you know that you will not qualify for financial help, you can decide not to have the assessment.

Learn more about paying for care.