Asking for a needs assessment in Redbridge

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. Use the online request form, or ring the team on 020 8708 7333, and mention the Care Act 2014 so the request is logged properly.

Adult care information is on a separate council site (adultcare.redbridge.gov.uk), and the online contact form is described as the quickest way to request an assessment.

Preparing well

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

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.

Local picture: Redbridge

86% of rated care homes in Redbridge are Good or Outstanding, better than the England average of 83%. The area has 77 homes, 71 of them rated. 16% (12) are registered to provide nursing care. In Redbridge, 93% of rated home care agencies are Good or Outstanding (68 rated out of 130 registered). Across England the figure is 88%.

CQC added 10 home care agencies and 8 care homes in Redbridge to its register over the past year; new services may not be rated yet. Among agencies in Redbridge, Well-led is the area most often rated below Good: 7 of the 68 with a Well-led rating.

CQC has yet to rate 62 of the area's home care agencies and 6 of its care homes. In the past year, 17 new CQC ratings came out for Redbridge, and 2 went up, 1 moved to a lower rating, 5 were new services getting a first rating; the latest is dated 23 October 2026.

Data: CQC, Oct 2026.

Family carers

If you look after someone, you can ask London Borough of Redbridge for your own free carer's assessment, even if the person you care for has not been assessed. London Borough of Redbridge: support for carers.

What happens at the assessment

The assessor, typically a social worker or an occupational therapist, goes through these areas with the person and, if they choose, their family:

• putting on clothes
• looking after the home
• moving around safely
• keeping clean
• meals and drinks
• keeping in touch with others
• continence and the toilet

To be eligible under national rules, needs must make a significant difference to wellbeing, stem from a physical or mental condition, and mean the person cannot achieve two or more of these outcomes. Before the full assessment, the council may talk things through by phone and arrange equipment or reablement; reablement costs nothing for up to six weeks.