Critical risks arise when:

• life is threatened
• major health problems are present
• vital aspects of independence are threatened

The Department of Health states that:

If vital aspects of a persons daily life are affected by their needs, it means that without help, individuals are at great risk of either losing their independence, possibly necessitating admission to institutional care or making very little, damaging or inappropriate contributions to family and wider community life with serious consequences for the individual and others.

Having said that, councils should continue to recognise that what may be vital to one individual may not be vital to another as people can react differently to needs and circumstances