A care plan sets out the care and support you need and how it will be provided. It can help ensure the people supporting you understand your wishes and preferences. This guide explains the different care plans you may have, what they include, why they are important and how they are reviewed.
Page contents
At a glance
What a care plan is: A care plan is a written document that outlines your assessed care and support needs, the services you should receive, and how those needs will be met.
Different care plans: A local-authority care and support plan explains how your eligible needs will be met, while a home care provider’s care plan sets out how your care will be delivered day to day.
Why it matters: A care plan helps ensure consistent, personalised care, improves communication between everyone involved, and reduces misunderstandings or duplicated support.
How to get one: If you have care and support needs but do not currently receive help, you can request a care needs assessment from your local authority, which may lead to a care plan being created.
What is a care plan?
If your local authority assesses you as having eligible care and support needs, it will develop a care and support plan explaining how those needs will be met. If you receive home care, your care provider will also usually develop its own care plan with you, setting out how your care will be delivered day to day.
A care and support plan explains the needs identified through your local authority’s assessment and how those needs will be met. It should reflect what matters to you, the outcomes you want to achieve and the support you need in your daily life.
A care plan aims to:
- help provide consistent care and support
- provide a clear record of the support you receive
- set out your needs and how they will be met
Care planning: What should a care plan include?
The person receiving care should be involved in the planning process so that their wishes and preferences can be taken into account.
- A local-authority care and support plan may include: assessed eligible needs, desired outcomes, how needs will be met, personal budget, contributions/direct payments where applicable.
- A home care provider’s care plan may include: daily routines, preferences, how support should be provided, medication/support requirements where relevant, risks, agreed visits/tasks and other practical information needed by care workers.
Once your local authority has assessed you and identified that you have support needs and that they will contribute towards the costs, your plan should include how much they will pay towards your care.
Your plan could include everything from personal assistants visiting you each week to home adaptations to make you more independent. It could also include visits to day centres for socialising or other things you may enjoy.
The council must provide you with a copy of your care plan, as well as a copy for anyone else you want, e.g. your carer.
Why are care plans important?
- Helps provide consistent, personalised support
- Helps everyone understand needs, wishes and preferences
- Improves communication between people involved in care
- Gives the person more involvement and control
What if I am not happy with my care plan?
Your local authority should let you know how you can raise any concerns or questions about your plan.
If you feel your care plan doesn’t support your needs, contact the adult social services department of your council to ask for a review.
How often is a care plan reviewed?
Your personalised plan needs to be monitored and regularly reviewed and updated to reflect any changes in your condition or progress made for specific goals, to ensure it is meeting your individual needs.
Your local council must review the plan usually 6-8 weeks after its creation.
Types of care plans
Common types of care plans are:
- Personal: This type of plan concentrates on daily assistance with daily living activities such as bathing, dressing, or meal preparation.
- Medical: Focuses on managing and treating medical conditions.
- Rehabilitation: Focus recovery from surgery, injury, or illness. For example physical therapy, occupational therapy etc.
- Palliative and Hospice: Concentrates on terminal conditions and giving comfort, pain management, and end-of-life care.
- Mental Health: Focuses on mental health conditions, such as depression, anxiety, schizophrenia and giving emotional support, therapy and medicine management.
Do I need a care needs assessment?
If you have health and social care needs and do not currently receive support, the first thing to do is to request a care needs assessment from your local authority.
Next steps
- Request a care needs assessment: Contact your local authority to assess your health and social care needs if you don’t currently receive support.
- Collaborate on your goals: Work with health professionals and family to outline your personal preferences, desired outcomes, and specific support arrangements in your care plan document.
- Schedule regular reviews: Set up ongoing check-ins (typically starting 6 to 8 weeks after creation) with your council or care provider to update the plan as your needs or health conditions change.
FAQs
What is a care plan?
A care plan is a document that outlines your assessed health and social care needs and how you will be supported. It specifies who will provide your care, what type of care you need and how the support will be given. The care plan also serves as a record of care provided.
Why is a care plan important?
A care plan is important because it ensures that you receive the right level of care regardless of which care worker is on duty and that your personal requirements are met. It helps you to better understand your condition and how your care needs will be looked after.
What does a care plan include?
Care plans should as far as possible be tailored to the individual, but will always include what your assessed care needs are, what support you should receive, your desired outcomes, who should provide care, when care should be provided, costs of the services as well as your wishes and personal preferences.
Why should you be involved in your care planning?
The more you are involved in planning your care, the more you can ensure that you will be looked after the way you want. Making your wishes known gives you more control over your life, lets you live independently as possible and ensures that you can keep doing the things that you enjoy.
How do you get a care plan?
Before you start receiving care from a health and social care provider, they will create a care plan with you. If you have care needs and do not currently receive support, the first thing to do is to request a needs assessment from your local authority who will create a care plan following the assessment.
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