The word assessment sounds like a clipboard and a judgement being made. Here is what it actually involves, from the first message to the first morning a carer arrives, and what you do not need to prepare.

It is one of the hardest decisions a family makes, and it usually arrives at a difficult moment. A parent has a fall. A diagnosis lands. Someone asks the question everyone has been dreading: should we look at a care home, or can we keep her at home? Here is an honest comparison to help you decide, without pretending one is always better.