Care needs assessments in Peterborough

Making the request

The right to request one belongs to every adult who looks as though they need help, and relatives can make the request for them. Apply online, or ring the team on 01733 747474, and mention the Care Act 2014 so the request is logged properly.

You can ask Adult Social Care for an assessment using the council's online form, by phone or by email. Direct payment users can get support from Peterborough Council for Voluntary Services.

What happens at the assessment

Someone from adult social care (often a social worker or OT) goes through these areas with the person and, if they choose, their family:

• toileting
• nutrition
• relationships with family and friends
• safe movement indoors
• washing and bathing
• getting dressed
• keeping the home habitable

To be eligible under national rules, needs must stop two or more outcomes being achieved, come from a physical or mental impairment or illness, and have a significant effect on wellbeing. Short-term support sometimes comes first: after an initial phone call, councils can provide aids or a spell of reablement, which is free for up to six weeks.

Local picture: Peterborough

CQC published 7 ratings for services in Peterborough in the last 12 months, and 1 went up, 1 was new services getting a first rating. The most recent was on 6 October 2026. Unrated services in Peterborough: 73 home care agencies and 4 care homes. Ask these providers when CQC last visited.

Among agencies in Peterborough, Safe is the area most often rated below Good: 7 of the 53 with a Safe rating. Responsive has the most Outstanding ratings (2 of 52). England-wide, 88% of rated home care agencies are Good or Outstanding; in Peterborough it is 94%, from 53 rated agencies among the 126 registered.

In the last 12 months, Peterborough gained 10 newly registered home care agencies and 3 new care homes. There are 37 care homes in Peterborough, and 88% of the 33 with a rating are Good or Outstanding (better than England's 83%). 30% (11) are registered to provide nursing care.

Based on the register as of Oct 2026.

If you are a carer

Carers hold a separate right to be assessed by Peterborough City Council, free. It does not depend on the person you support having been assessed. Peterborough City Council: support for carers. Carers' service locally: Peterborough Carers Wellbeing Service (Making Space).

Preparing well

• Bring details of tumbles, admissions, illnesses and current tablets.
• Have someone you trust with you; failing that, request an independent advocate.
• Talk about your worst days rather than your best; "I manage" is a very common understatement.
• Make sure you receive the paperwork afterwards: assessment and plan.
• A week-long log of problems, with times, is persuasive evidence.

Challenging the outcome

Ask the council to explain the decision in writing and to review it. If that does not resolve it, use the council's complaints process, then the Local Government and Social Care Ombudsman, which is free.