Glossary of terms
We've included below a glossary of helpful terms related to social care that you may find referenced in areas of the hub
| Term | Description |
|---|---|
| Adult Social Care (ASC) | Adult social care is a broad term that refers to support provided by a wide range of agencies and individuals to help those in need to maintain their independence and well-being. |
| ASCOF | The national Adult Social Care Outcomes Framework (ASCOF) measures how well care and support services achieve the outcomes that matter most to people. |
| Assessment of need | Used to identify an individual’s social care and support needs and their eligibility for care and support. |
| Assistive Technology | Technical equipment that might increase the range of activities and independence or well-being of disabled and older people – also referred to as Care technology (care tec) or Technology Enabled Care. |
| Care and Support Plan | Written agreements setting out how care will be provided within the resources available for vulnerable or eligible customers. |
| Care Management | Describes the role of qualified and non-qualified staff undertaking assessment and case management. It describes processes undertaken when an individual’s care needs are assessed and appropriate services are provided. Care management includes: making available information about possible help; determining the level of assessment to be undertaken once a person has been referred for adult social care services; assessing their needs; developing a care plan that describes services to meet their needs; implementing the care plan; and monitoring and reviewing the care plan. |
| Care package | A collective name for the service(s) a person can expect to receive following an Assessment of Need. |
| Carer assessment | A carer’s assessment identifies: support needs and outcomes that the carer wishes to achieve in their day-to-day life, whether those needs are eligible for support from the local authority and how provision of support may assist the adult in achieving their desired outcomes. |
| Care Quality Commission (CQC) | Regulator for health and adult social care services, whether provided by NHS, local authority councils, private companies or voluntary organisations. |
| Commissioner | A person/organisation that plans the services that are needed by the people who live in the area the organisation covers, and ensures that services are available. |
| Commissioning | The process of specifying, securing and monitoring services to meet people’s needs. This can be done at an individual, group and strategic level. This applies to all services, whether they are provided by a local authority, NHS, other public agencies or by the private or voluntary sectors. |
| Continuing Healthcare | A package of ongoing health and care and support that is arranged and funded solely by the NHS where the individual has been found to have a primary health need. |
| Co-production | When an individual/groups are involved as an equal partner(s) in designing the support and services they receive. |
| Domiciliary care | Personal care services provided to people in their own homes to maintain their independence. |
| Direct Payment (DP) | Payments made directly to someone in need of care and support by their local authority to allow the person greater choice and flexibility about how their care is delivered. |
| Extra Care | Extra care housing schemes are aimed at people aged 55 years or over with care and support needs. These schemes allow tenants to live independently but give them access to care and support services on-site through a care provider. Extra Care schemes also have a number of communal areas and are part of the local community. |
| Financial assessment | A mean-tested assessment of an individual’s finances (income and savings) to identify how much they will be required to contribute towards the cost of their care and support services. |
| Health and social care integration | A programme to change how health and social care are delivered. It refers to joining services up to avoid duplication for people receiving care and support. |
| Independence | This means being able to have autonomy to make choices and do the things you want in life. In the context of social care, this can mean making decisions on where you live and the support you receive. |
| Integrated care | NHS and local authority health responsibilities are managed together so that care trusts can offer a more efficient and better integrated service. |
| Intermediate care | Intermediate care is usually defined as a range of integrated services to promote faster recovery from illness, prevent unnecessary acute hospital admission, support timely discharge and maximise independent living. |
| Joint Commissioning | The process in which two or more organisations act together to coordinate the commissioning of services. |
| Personal budget | This is a statement that sets out the cost to the local authority of meeting an adult’s assessed unmet eligible care needs. It includes the amount that the adult must pay towards that cost themselves (on the basis of their financial assessment), as well as any amount that the local authority must pay. |
| Personal care | Support to people to help get dressed, bathe and use the toilet when they are unable to do it themselves due to age, illness or disability. |
| Place-based | This refers to the approach taken to meet an individual’s needs when planning support and when working in a particular place. This enables people to work and receive support in the right place for them. |
| Prevention | Actions to prevent people’s wellbeing from deteriorating by enabling them to help themselves through information and advice and community led groups. |
| Reablement | Reablement is a short and intensive service, usually delivered in the home, which is offered to people with disabilities and those who are frail or recovering from an illness or injury to support them to regain their independence and maximum wellbeing. |
| Safeguarding | The process of ensuring that adults at risk are not being abused, neglected, or exploited, and ensuring that people who are deemed “unsuitable” do not work with them. |
| Self-Directed Support | Support services that help give people with a disability the confidence and wellbeing to live independently and become an active member of the community. |
| Self-funding | This term is used when a person is paying the whole cost of their care without assistance from the council. |
| Technology Enabled Care (TEC) | This refers to technology that can assist people to do every day activities and help them to maintain independence such as clocks that can speak the time. |