Last Updated: April 2024

Any partner / family member or friend who provides regular unpaid physical and / or emotional support, is a ‘carer’. Anyone is entitled to a carer’s assessment if they regularly provide a substantial amount of care for someone. They can get a carer’s assessment regardless of whether the person they care for is having / has had their needs assessed.

The kind of help and support you could get includes:

• alternative support for your partner to give you a break
• information on local carers support groups
• help for you, for example with household tasks
• equipment to help you in your caring role.

You may also be entitled to a personal budget that the LA has calculated will cover your needs, depending on the support needs identified in the assessment.

In some areas, another organistion may complete carer’s assessments on behalf of the LA, but you still have to contact your LA to ask for the assessment. Find your LA.

You can find further information at Carers UK – click on the buttons at the top to select from UK, Wales, Scotland or Northern Ireland.

Getting Ready For A Carer’s Assessment

Before the assessment, it may be helpful for you to keep a diary of day and night tasks for a week and record:

• What care you give. Make sure to record details of the time all these tasks take you on your worst day. A blank diary template is available here.
• How you manage to maintain your home and look after any other family members – how you organise this each day; the time it takes you to do tasks such as shop, cook, clear up, do housework, take children to and from school etc.

Write down:

• How your caring role has impacted on your work or education – have you had to reduce your hours? Have you had to have time off?
• What impact caring has had on your sleep and any leisure time you had. Do you get any breaks?
• What impact caring has had on you emotionally and psychologically.

Your medical team should provide your partner / family member with information about their condition that you can pass on. If, though, you would like more help with explaining the impact of your partner / family member’s SMA, or any other support preparing for or during a carer’s assessment, please don’t hesitate to contact SMA UK.