Mental health: ethnic minority carers’ experiences
Carers' assessments
The law says that everyone who spends time caring for someone has the right to have their needs assessed by social services. This is the case even if the carer works or lives separately from the person she or he cares for. The purpose of the assessment is to find out what support carers need to balance caring with life, work and family commitments. But carers' assessments don't always happen, sometimes because health professionals or carers are not aware of them. One woman, for example, had only found out about them when she had been caring for four years.
Some people thought an assessment could be useful, but hadn't really done much about it or said “nobody actually asked me”. Many of the carers we spoke to had never had an assessment.
Those who had been assessed told us of mostly negative experiences. Many carers were "not sure if it helped". Assessments involve "pages and pages" of forms and filling in information that may have been recorded "millions of times before" and as a result of assessments, some carers had been told that, “There is nothing we can do.” Others were offered services which didn't meet their needs.
Her first carer's assessment offered unsuitable respite, but the second assessment was better (played by an actor).
Her first carer's assessment offered unsuitable respite, but the second assessment was better (played by an actor).
So I got involved with Rethink and then somehow I must have heard, been told I was entitled to a carers assessment, and which I had, and I didn't find it very useful because what he suggested was for Max to go somewhere, like for people with mental health problems for a week, to give me a break, and I had said, - had told him Max was not going to go anywhere because he didn't want to have anything to do with people with mental health problems, as he was adamant that he was not mentally ill. So basically that was it. Either my son had to fit in what was offered, or there was nothing. And then I was told another thing, that somebody was going to contact me about support, carer support, -nobody did. So I just thought that was it, I just left it at that really, but I felt it was not useful then. I had another one since, which was better, obviously, you know, things are improving.
One carer said that although the assessment had identified some of the help he needed, the professional carers "don't do half the jobs" they were supposed to. He felt he needed to monitor their work to make sure everything was done properly.
Some had chosen not to have an assessment done (or repeated), saying assessments were punishing, involved "lots of hurdles" and question your honesty.
She does not apply for things she is entitled to because she feels her honesty is doubted (played by an actor).
She does not apply for things she is entitled to because she feels her honesty is doubted (played by an actor).
I had one years ago now, years ago I had an assessment, but it didn't, it didn't get to anything, because you see, sometimes. -You see that's the only thing I don't like, sometimes when you have this sort of a problem, you know, and they want to maybe, -I don't know what to say- maybe give you some things, financial help here, I had to go through all this red tape and all this questioning and all these things. I mean, when you have this sort of problem why should you? When you are genuine, if you are a genuine person and they know that you're a genuine person, why do you have to go through all this red tape, this rigmarole of questioning? And I don't, -I just can't do with it. So sometimes they just say, 'Oh you could claim for this, you could claim for that'. I don't bother. I just can't go through with it, many a time I think that there are things out there I could claim for, but I don't, I don't because I cannot be bothered to go through all this when I know that my case is genuine. So I don't really put myself in that position. I'm satisfied what I've got, I can live on it what I've got and I'm all right. I don't bother, because it's too much, I can't do with it, I can't do with that.
One carer had given up when the self-addressed envelope with her form was returned after three months. She said, “If they can't process a form, what can they do for me?” Some felt assessments for carers need to be re-thought so as to involve less 'red tape' and to take carers' emotional, practical and financial needs into account better.
Nita thinks carer's assessments need to be re-thought so that people don't have to jump 'hurdles' to get what they are entitled to.
Nita thinks carer's assessments need to be re-thought so that people don't have to jump 'hurdles' to get what they are entitled to.
And my experience with carers assessments are that they're only done now and again, or if there's a good, you know, worker involved. They're not done as a matter of course, so they need to be looked at. And the other worry I have around assessments is your explanation to that person, you know assessment is quite a punitive way of working with people, and I don't know how we bypass that. It's almost like we've got to overcome a load of hurdles before we get what we're entitled to, and I'm sure it could be made easier.
One carer said that when social workers speak to carers about assessments they need to keep in mind that there is no good word for 'assessment' in some languages so social workers need to find alternative ways to talk about what a carers' assessment is.
But not all assessments are negative, as the clip below shows:
Last reviewed September 2018.
Last updated February 2013.
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