Glossary of abbreviations and terms used in social care

Abbreviations, codes and terms you don’t understand can be an issue when you step into the world of care especially if you have lots of hospital visits or you need a social worker. There are still times when I need to ask someone ‘what does that actually mean?’ I am sure there were times when I was in a meeting when everyone was talking about an abbreviation but no one knew what it was but didn’t want to ask in case they looked silly.

I thought I would do a quick rundown of some of the frequently used phrases and abbreviations and explain what they mean.

1. ASC - Adult Social Care

Many of you will still call it social services, most people interchange the two names. It is the department in Cumbria County Council which deals with care and support for adults who need extra help to manage their lives. This includes people with a physical disability, long-term illness, people with mental health problems, older people (over 65 years) and their carers.

In this department are people like social workers and occupational therapists (these are explained later). The offices for this department are in each district of the county and you would be assessed by someone in the office in the district you live in. They will complete assessments of people’s needs, provision of services or allocate funding to enable someone to purchase their own care and support. Services range from residential care, home care, personal assistants, day services, aids and adaptations.

Carers assessments are slightly different, West Cumbria Carers’ adult support workers complete the carers assessments on behalf of adult social care in Copeland and Allerdale.

2. MDT - Multidisciplinary team

This team can sometimes be used for two things. A team itself which is made up of a mix of professions such as doctor, social worker, occupational therapist. Or, when there is a meeting to discuss someone’s needs, it is the occasion when all of the professions that work with someone meet up to make a decision. An example could be; someone is in a hospital ward and can’t be discharged home because their needs are greater and now need nursing care.

3. Continuing care

Ongoing care outside hospital for someone who is ill or disabled, health care arranged and funded by the NHS. This type of care can be provided anywhere, and can include the full cost of a place in a nursing home.

It is provided when an individual’s need for day-to-day support is mostly due to their need for health care, rather than social care. This can be confusing because there are things you might think of as health that is actually social care.  However this would be discussed with you if you were in this situation. The Government has issued guidance to the NHS on how people should be assessed for continuing health care, and who is entitled to receive it.

More information can be found here: http://www.nhs.uk/chq/Pages/2392.aspx?CategoryID=68

4. OT - Occupational Therapist

A professional with specialist training in working with people with different types of disability or mental health needs. An Occupational therapist can help a person learn new skills or regain lost skills, and can arrange for aids and adaptations the person may need in their home. Occupational therapists are employed both by the NHS and by local councils.

5. Reablement

A way of helping people remain independent, by giving them the opportunity to relearn or regain some of the skills for daily living that may have been lost as a result of illness, accident or disability. It is similar to rehabilitation, which helps people recover from physical or mental illness. Cumbria County Council offers a Reablement service for a limited period in a person’s home that includes personal care, help with activities of daily living, and practical tasks around the home. They are assessed at the end and it may mean long term care solutions are needed or permanent aids around the house or excellent progress has been made and they are able to manage without further support.

6. Respite

This is a service giving carers a break, by providing short-term care for the person with care needs in their own home or in a residential setting. It can mean a few hours during the day or evening, ‘night sitting’, or a longer-term break. It can also benefit the person with care needs by giving them the chance to try new activities and meet new people. The level of respite will be dependent on their care needs of the individual and length of time of the break.

7. CQC - Care Quality Commission

The independent regulator of all health and social care services in England. The Care Quality Commission monitors, inspects and regulates hospitals, care homes and home care services. They produce reports which the general public can read about services which is very useful when you are looking for an appropriate care home for your mother for example.

Link to their website: http://www.cqc.org.uk/

8.  Palliative Care

Palliative care is for people living with a terminal illness where a cure is no longer possible. It's for people diagnosed with any terminal condition. It’s also for people who have a complex illness and need their symptoms controlled. Palliative care aims to treat or manage pain and other physical symptoms. It will also help with any psychological, social or spiritual needs. Treatment will involve medicines, therapies, and any other support that specialist teams believe will help their patients. It includes caring for people who are nearing the end of life. This is called end of life care. The goal is to help the person and everyone affected by the diagnosis to achieve the best quality of life.

9. Eligibility

To assess care and support from Adult Social Care there is a nationally defined eligibility threshold  (within The Care Act). This is so all councils across England consider the same level of care and support needs when they assess what help they can give you. To find out if you are eligible for care and support you will need to have an assessment.  There are two kinds of assessment:

• an assessment of your own care and support needs; and
• a carer's assessment, if you are looking after someone else

To learn more about the eligibility click the link for the Cumbria County Council factsheet

If you are a carer, give our office a call and we can answer any queries you may have: 01900 821 976

10.SW and SCW - SW is social worker and SCW is social care worker.  

The roles are similar but different all at the same time. Both of them carry out assessments and work with people to provide care and support. To practise as a social worker, you need a degree in social work and you need to be registered with the relevant care standards council.

A social worker has the ability to work on Safeguarding incidents as well as working with people with more complex needs.

I am sure there are lots of other terms which have had your head spinning or have got you grabbing you phone to google. Let me know which ones have baffled you.