Rapid Support Service

Returning home to a familiar environment, with the appropriate support in place to keep you safe, is the best way to help you to recover and regain your independence.

It will allow time for us to assess your short-term and long-term care and support needs in the setting where you spend most of your time – your own home.

We will work alongside you to help you to regain the skills and confidence to get back to doing everyday tasks and activities yourself - in a way that is realistic and safe.

This is a free service which is provided in your own home for a maximum of 28 days. It is only intended as a short-term service to support your recovery. Ideally the service should end within 14-21 days if not earlier if:

• you no longer need this support, or
• you have been assessed as needing longer term care and this is agreed within 14-21 days or earlier. 

Whilst you are in hospital, you will have an initial assessment to determine what kind of short-term support you will need when you get home. This will be arranged before you are discharged and you will be given details.

Your transport home will be arranged whilst you are at hospital.

Once you are home, a member of the social work team will then contact you to arrange a time to visit you to carry out an assessment of your care needs. The assessment should take place within five to seven days of you coming out of hospital.

We will send you information leaflets before the assessment to help you to prepare for the meeting. They will explain more about the assessment and the kind of questions we will ask you.

If your ongoing care and support needs are assessed as being eligible for help from the Council, we will work with you to develop a personal support plan.

There are many different options we will look at with you. This could include what you can do for yourself, help from family and friends, access to community facilities or support from voluntary services. We might also suggest equipment or adaptations to your home. Your support plan will make the most of what you can do with the help you have around you.

If you are not eligible for services from the Council, we will give you information and advice about how to access care and support services for yourself. You can find information and services to manage your own care needs and to stay independent on the Connect to Support Hampshire website.

If you are eligible for help from the Council and you require formal services, such as residential care or a paid carer coming into your home, the social worker will arrange for you to have a financial assessment, if you haven’t had one previously. This is to determine how your long-term care will be funded.

Depending on your financial circumstances, you may need to pay some or all of the cost of your care and support.

The Council reserves the right to charge you for your care from the date long-term care is assessed as appropriate and provided. As short-term services are time limited, this may start on a date before we can carry out your financial assessment. It would also apply if you received long-term services in the same location as the short-term service. Any charges will be in line with our usual practices.

More information about:

Financial assessment

Paying for care at home

Paying for care in a care home

"I don't know how we would have managed without them"

"The hospital and care service was excellent"

"The staff that came were lovely to the patient, caring and understanding and got the job done"

"Enabled me to go home sooner than expected. Everything was sorted out which relieved stress on me and my family"

Do you provide unpaid practical or emotional support to someone? This could be to a family member, a friend or another person who needs help or support to manage daily activities. If you do, then you are a carer.

You may be looking after someone who:

• is an older person
• has a mental health condition
• is living with a disability
• has a long-term medical condition
• has a terminal illness

Carers can be:

• adults caring for other adults
• parents or other adults looking after children
• young carers (under 18) caring for or involved in the care of a relative, a friend or neighbour

Caring for someone can be tiring and stressful. Carers often focus so much on the needs of the person they are supporting or caring for that they neglect their own health and wellbeing. If you are a carer, it is very important that you also look after yourself.

You can find lots of information about the support on offer, both locally and nationally, for you as a carer on the Connect to Support Hampshire website.

This information includes:

• carers’ rights
• support available locally to carers
• how to register as a carer with your GP
• financial support
• getting a break from caring
• preparation and support for carers in an emergency