Getting advice and assistance from Adult Social Services

When you contact us, you can expect to be asked about what matters most to you and what could help improve your situation. We will also talk to you about your strengths and capabilities and what is working well in your life.

This will enable us to get a better understanding on the support you may need and whether:

you are able to meet the need alone; or
you are able to meet the need with the care and support of others who are willing to provide it ; or
you are able to meet the need with the assistance of services you can access in the community.

Our starting point is to give people enough information and advice and/or support to enable them to make their own care and support arrangements. This may involve signposting you to another agency or organisation that are able to provide you with the support you need.

We may decide that we need to understand your situation in more detail and pass the information you have provided to the most appropriate Team.

If your information is passed on to a Team, a member of staff will discuss with you what outcomes you wish to achieve, your care and support needs, how these can be met and if you are eligible for help from Social Services. This discussion is known as an assessment.

Should you need ongoing support, it is likely that arrangements for your care will be written into a care and support plan. This is called a care and treatment plan in mental health.

The care and support plan is simply a document to help you know what everyone is doing, and when they are doing it and you will be given a copy.

If you require any further information or advice you can contact our Information Advice & Assistance Team

If you already have a Care and Support Plan, this will contain the contact details of the Team already involved with your care.

Please use the following contact details:

If you need to speak to someone about social services for adults during the opening times below please call the Information, Advice and Assistance Team on 0808 100 2500.
If you need to speak to someone about social services for children during the opening times below please call the Information, Advice and Assistance Team on 0808 100 1727.
If you need to contact social services in an emergency regarding adults or children's services when the offices are closed please call the Emergency Out of Hours Support Service on 0800 328 4432.

The office opening times are :