We want to help all adults live as healthily, safely and independently as possible, we also want to support people to stay in their own home wherever this is possible. To support people to live healthy lifestyles and make healthy choices the Public Health Team provides local services, advice and information, you can find this on the Health and Wellbeing Hub. 

If you want to find out about the different types of help available in your local community you can use our Adult Social Care Directory. 

• You can arrange many services yourself, many of them are available to all and some are free. 
• You may be able to pay for the support you need yourself or, you may need help to do this. The "Ways to pay for your care and support" section aims to explain the options. 
• If you use Domiciliary Care (home care/home help) or a Residential or Nursing Home they must be registered with the Care Quality Commission which inspects and regulates them. NHS Choices provides useful guides to help with this "Questions to ask when using a home care agency"  and "Tips on choosing a home" 

"Our Adult Social Care Services" includes information about the services provided directly by Milton Keynes City Council.

If you need help to understand what your needs are and how to arrange the services you need, if your independence and well being are at significant risk, or you are concerned about another person you can contact our ACCESS Team or you can complete a Request for care and support. We will often be able to give you the advice and information you need over the telephone, if necessary we can arrange to see you in person.

The Access Team will also forward specialist adult social care enquiries, including safeguarding concerns, to relevant staff.

To support you to maintain your independence and live in your own home, we may suggest Equipment, Adaptations or Community Alarm or we may arrange some short term support to help you. Wherever possible we will help to avoid hospital admissions or help you return home from hospital as quickly as possible by reablement services (also called Intermediate Care). If you think that you need to move into Sheltered Housing, Supported Accommodation or a Care Home we can give you advice and information about the options available and what may best suit your needs.

If you need ongoing social care support our staff will then contact you to offer to further advice as required and where necessary we will carry out an assessment to look at your eligible social care needs and identify if you are eligible for funded adult social care. The way that we do this is explained in the "Ask for adult social care support from the Council" section. 

A carer is anyone who provides unpaid support to a family member or friend who needs help with everyday tasks because they are ill, frail or disabled. Carers can be any age and may provide support in their own home or in the home of the person they care for. Being a carer can impact on your health, wellbeing, paid work and relationships.

As a carer you are entitled to information and advice and you may be able to get support to help you in your caring role, this includes:

• help with caring during the day or night or both
• a break / time off from caring (sometimes called respite care)
• financial and benefits advice
• emotional support from other carers or people who understand

For some services you will need to have a carer's assessment before we can agree the help that you need. In an emergency we will arrange the support and an assessment will take place as soon as possible afterwards. 

If you are not looking after someone at the moment but are thinking about doing so in the near future you can also ask for help to find out about the options available to you.