Needs are located in their own section in Care Office, separate from Skills and Training. Every need belongs to a category, so it's always clear what type of support it relates to.
Setting up your needs
To create and manage needs:
Go to the Settings cog in Care Office.
Select Needs & Skills.
Open the Needs tab.
Click Add a need.
Choose an existing need, or type to create a new one.
Select a category for the need, or create a new category by typing it in.
Categories help keep your needs organised and are always visible wherever the need is displayed.
Assigning needs to service users
There are two ways to assign a need to a service user.
Assign from a care or support plan
Use this option when the need should be linked to a specific care or support plan.
Open the relevant care or support plan.
Click Review.
In the Needs section, add the relevant need.
Set new review date
Save the plan review.
The need will be linked to that plan, creating a snapshot of the need as it existed at the time it was added.
If the need is updated later, the linked plan will be flagged for review so you can check whether any changes are required.
Assign from the service user’s profile
Use this option when the need should be assigned directly to the service user.
Open the service user’s profile.
Select Needs.
Click Assign new needs.
Choose the relevant need from the list.
Add a note for context, such as specific triggers, preferences, or support requirements.
Save the changes.
Where needs appear
Assigned needs appear in both Care Office and the Carer App, alongside their category and any notes that have been added.
This gives your team clear, easy-to-read information about the support each person requires.
To Note:
Historic care plans keep showing needs as they existed at the time they were linked, even if the need is later updated – so your records stay accurate over time.
Removing a skill does not remove any needs linked to it. Needs and skills are managed independently.