Carers Support Service

Carers

Our latest newsletter No 108 issued March 2013 can now be viewed on-line. Previous editions of the newsletters can now be viewed in the Newsletters section.

The Carers Support Service provides information and advice to anyone who provides support to a family member, friend or neighbour because of their age, illness or impairment.

The service is free, independent and confidential and includes:

Information

Where to go for support
Local services
Benefits
Newsletters

Advice

How to plan for the future
How to manage difficult situations

Support

Opportunities to meet with other carers
Relaxation
Drop-in service
Listening Ear
Signpost to services
Home visits

Training
Training and awareness raising on carers issues

Consultation and involvement

Opportunities for carers to make their views heard
Involvement in local planning groups

Information

Carers Direct is a national information, advice and support service for carers in England. Available online at www.nhs.uk/carersdirect and as a free, confidential helpline seven days a week on 0808 802 0202, it provides accurate, relevant information for carers and those who support them.

Newsletters: The Carers Support Service publishes a quarterly newsletter to keep carers in touch with local and national events and services. To subscribe to the newsletters use this link: elaine@darlingtondisability.org

A Health Link Service is provided in partnership with County Durham and Darlington Primary Care Trust. Staff from the service make regular visits to GP surgeries to meet carers, and work alongside staff from GP Practices to identify ways that surgery staff can support carers. Staff also provide an outreach service in the Outpatient Department of Darlington Memorial Hospital.

Carers Register: One of the ways that the Carers Support Service keeps in touch with carers is through the Carers Register, which is held and maintained by the service. All information held on the Register is confidential and personal details are not shared with anyone outside Darlington Association on Disability. As well as receiving a regular newsletter, the Register also means that carers can be contacted with news and information relevant to their caring situation. If you are a carer, and you would like your details to be added to the Carers Register please contact us on 01325 357533 or email elaine@darlingtondisability.org

Factsheets for Carers: Please note that Carers Support Service have a number of fact sheets with relevant information for carers. These are:

• Fact Sheet 1: Questions you could ask a Domiciliary Care Agency

• Fact Sheet 2: Checklist for Choosing a Residential Home

• Fact Sheet 3: Services for Carers caring for someone who has mental ill health

• Fact Sheet 4: Welfare Rights. Please visit Durham County Council's website for information too

• Fact Sheet 5: Carers Allowance

• Fact Sheet 6: Checklist for Preparing for an Assessment

• Fact Sheet 7: Tips to help you discuss treatments with your Doctors

• Fact Sheet 8: Activities for Carers of People with mental ill health in Darlington

• Fact Sheet 9: Activities for Carers in Darlington of any age

• Fact Sheet 10: Mental Capacity Act 2005

• Fact Sheet 11: The Rights of a Carer

If you would like a copy of any of these please telephone 01325 357533 or email carers@darlingtondisability.org and we would be happy to send or email copies.

Advice

The Carers Support Service can answer queries about a whole range of issues. Common enquiries include how to get the right services, how to organise taking a break, what happens when someone goes into hospital and what benefits carers may be entitled to. Staff are able to visit carers in their own home, or arrange office visits at times to suit. For further information please telephone 01325 357533 or e-mail carers@darlingtondisability.org

Support

Support for Parent Carers - (carers of young disabled people under 25 years of age). The Carers Support Service provides information, advice and support to carers, including parents of disabled young people aged 18 or over.

Information and advice for parents of younger children, and young people up to the age of 18 is available from DAD’s Equal Access to Information project.

Parents of children and young people aged under 25 can also be supported by contacting or joining Darlington’s Parent Carer Forum. Darlington Parent Carer Forum (DPCF) is user led and works with Education, Health and Social Care to address challenges parent carers face by working with professionals to develop and improve services. Please take this opportunity to connect with us and professionals to ensure your opinions are heard in Darlington.

DPCF want to ensure that parents engage and remain engaged with participation work. To this end we will soon have a web page and we also have a Facebook presence. We encourage people to feedback to us using these portals as well as offering information on what is happening in and around Darlington and on a national scale.

We can help with information requests for parent carers and families and signposting them to services; ensuring they get the information needed in an accessible format. Parent carers can also access some practical support such as therapy vouchers to help maintain their own health and wellbeing and a carers card, which gives carers discounts at a range of outlets and services.

DPCF in partnership with DAD and Darlington Parent Partnership Service recently organised a short series of ‘You need to know’ workshops, designed to give parent carers information about planned changes to services. Links to the presentations are listed below, if you are unable to access the presentations please contact us and we will try to help as best we can.

Workshop 1: SEN Pathfinder 2013 (Powerpoint presentation) and Ellie’s Plan Word document (an example of a combined Education, Health and Care Plan)

Workshop 2: SEN in Darlington (Powerpoint presentation)

Workshop 4: Post 16 Education (Powerpoint presentation)

Also available is The Parent Partnership leaflet

The "Circle of Friends" meets up on the third Thursday of the month. This is an informal group, where Carers meet up to have a chat, coffee or to just make new friends. The group is run by the Carers themselves and they decide what they want to do. This may be arranging a day out somewhere, going for a look around the shops or just meeting up with other carers for a cuppa and a catch up.

The Mental Health Carers' Support Group meets on the last Thursday of every month. This group is specifically for people who are caring for someone experiencing mental ill health. We regularly have speakers on a range of issues from the role of a Community Psychiatric Nurse to fun things like gardening and jewellery making.

The Male Carers Group meets on the 3rd Wednesday of the month. This is for men who find themselves involved in a caring role.

Learning Disability Carers Group meets on the 2nd Friday of each month. This is a new social group for people caring for someone with a learning disability.

For more information on any of these groups call us on 01325 357533 or e-mail carers@darlingtondisability.org

Other Carers groups: The Carers Support Service has links with Carers Darlington, a branch of Carers UK. Carers Darlington provides a drop-in service at Age UK, Bradbury House twice a week on a Tuesday from 10am to 12 noon, and Friday from 12 noon to 2pm, when carers can relax and enjoy a cup of tea.

Involvement

If you are a carer and have views about local services or want to get involved in monitoring and shaping local services or in training Care Managers and Health Service staff, the Carers Support Service would like to know. Please contact carers@darlingtondisability.org

For more information or to contact the Carers Support Service

Carers Support Service
Enterprise House
South Entrance
Valley Street North
Darlington
DL1 1GY

Tel 01325 357533
Text 0762 481 8780
Fax 01325 254848

Email carers@darlingtondisability.org