Department for Communities Domiciliary Service Care and support at home for elderly and disabled people Fact Sheet 10 (August 2015) If you are an older person or you have a disability, you may need some care and support. This may be because your health or mobility is declining, or you have been in hospital or you have a long term health condition. Carmarthenshire County Council has a Domiciliary Service that can help in the following ways: Reablement - a short-term support designed to give older people or people with disabilities skills, techniques and confidence to manage as many daily living tasks as possible on their own. Long Term support - long term practical help and support in carrying out personal or household tasks that enable people to continue to live at home. In most cases, this service is offered to people who would otherwise have to leave their own homes and live in residential care. Through the Night - planned and unplanned non medical personal calls during the night. This service is to provide visits at times during the night, to support people and avoid unnecessary admission to hospital or residential care. If you feel you need care and support, the first step is to ask us to assess your needs. Everyone is entitled to have their needs assessed and a service can be provided if you meet the agreed criteria. To get an assessment you need to contact Careline +: 01267 224466. About the Domiciliary Service Reablement Service When you are referred to our service, a social worker will listen to what matters to you to decide on the best way to support you in the community. 1
The Reablement Service will provide you with intensive support, designed to help you regain your independence. We will discuss with you your goals and draw up a goal plan of how we can support you to meet them. We constantly review how you are managing and adjust the support you get to meet your individual goals. Your Reablement programme may last up to a maximum of six weeks depending on the continued assessment of your needs some people find that they are independent again after three or four weeks. The Reablement Service has teams of professional, friendly staff throughout Carmarthenshire who will listen to you, respect your personal views and standards and support you to be independent as possible with all activities of daily living to support you to live independently in your own home. We make every effort to ensure you work with the same staff throughout your reablement programme. The Reablement Service aims to: Help you maintain or take control of your life as far as you are able Help you to recover after a crisis or deterioration in your health, for example after a stay at hospital Provide practical help and support in your own home Support you in carrying out daily living tasks Enable you to continue to live independently in your own home for as long as you are able Promote your choices and build on your strengths Provide respite care and support for carers Liaise with GP, carer, voluntary agencies, and others in the community Provide good information about your service Provide consistency of care You can expect to: Be treated with dignity, respect and courtesy Make informed choices about your life at home and in the community Be able to make a complaint and be listened to Maintain your privacy Receive good information Receive a good personal, confidential service with regular contact and monitoring 2
Receive support from staff that are well trained and compliant with the Care Council of Wales Code of Practice. Other services may be provided if you and your social worker think that they are needed. Long Term Support If you need long term practical help and support in carrying out personal or household tasks that enable you to continue to live at home, your Social Worker will plan with you the most appropriate service for you. A Care Plan will be agreed with you, setting out the help you need. The services may be provided by; Staff employed directly by Social Services An independent care agency or voluntary organisation contracted to work with Social Services If you are assessed as needing ongoing personal care and support, you may want to use Direct Payments to choose and buy your own services or employ a personal assistant. No matter who is providing your service, Social Services will carry out regular reviews of your needs to make sure that the service is continuing to meet your needs. If you feel, at any time, that you may need more or less support, please ask us to review your needs. Either speak to the staff who are providing your service, or your Social Worker. Through the Night If you are assessed as needing care at times during the night, to support you and avoid unnecessary admission to hospital or residential care there are Domiciliary Support Workers who work through the night. The Through the Night Domiciliary Service works in conjunction with other night services by providing non-medical personal care to people living in the community through the Community Alarm Service. 3
What can I expect from The Domiciliary Service? We will prepare a personal plan for your particular needs which will be under regular review We will carry out a health and safety check to make sure that the support we provide in your home environment is safe for you and for the domiciliary staff Domiciliary staff will carry identification Domiciliary staff will have received regular professional supervision to make sure they are doing their job well When your service starts you will receive more detailed information about how the service operates and who to contact with any queries Will I have to pay and how much will it cost? There is a charge for Domiciliary Care and Direct Payments but the charge would depend on your financial circumstances. Some people pay the full charge for their assessed services, some will pay nothing for the services and others will pay something. Everyone is offered a financial assessment to work out how much they can afford to pay towards their care. The care will be free if you receive after care services provided under S117 of the Mental Health Act 1983, you are an adult who has been diagnosed with CJD, you are receiving a reablement service from this authority, or if your services are funded through Continuing Health Care by Hywel Dda Health Board. Is there a maximum charge? The most you will be asked to pay for Domiciliary Care/Direct Payments is 10.25 per hour. The actual amount you will pay will depend on your financial circumstances, but nobody will pay more than 55.00 per week. (Charges are correct at the time of publishing). Do you hold personal information about me? Any information we have about your needs is shared, used and stored securely and in compliance with the Data Protection Act 1998. You can find out more about this at www.carmarthenshire.gov.uk. 4
How do I give feedback or complain? Regular quality assurance questionnaires are undertaken and we welcome your comments and ideas. If you are pleased with our service or have views on things that could be improved, please let us know. If you are not happy with any aspect of the service, you can make a complaint. If you are unable to express your concerns yourself, a carer, family member or representative can contact us on your behalf. You can contact the Complaints Team in the following ways: By phone on: 01267 224488 By email: complaints@carmarthenshire.gov.uk Via the website: www.carmarthenshire.gov.uk/complaintsandcompliments You can also contact the Care & Social Services Inspectorate for Wales (CSSIW) By phone on: 01267 223402 Via the website: www.csiw.wales.gov.uk Further Information If you would like an assessment or would like more information on anything discussed in this booklet you can call Careline + on 01267 224466. Glossary of terms Care and Social Services Inspectorate Wales. Encourages the improvement of social care, by providing professional advice, regulation and inspection. Careline + - First point of contact to request advice or Social Care Services for older and physically disabled adults Care Plan - A care plan sets out the help you need and how it will happen Community Alarm Service - A service for vulnerable people to give them peace of mind knowing help is available 24 hours a day. Direct Payments - Payment made by Social Care and Health Services that enables people the opportunity of purchasing and organising their own care services, as an alternative to having them directly provided by Social Care and Health Services. 5
Domiciliary Service - Range of services provided to a person to remain in their own home, also known as home care. Domiciliary Support Worker - A person whose job it is to help and support in a practical way people in the community Goal plan - Identified goal or a vision and how to make it happen. Home Care Service - A range of Services provided to a person to remain in their own home, also known as domiciliary care service. Long Term Support - Provides long term practical help and support in carrying out personal or household tasks that enable people to continue to live at home. In most cases, this service is offered to people who would otherwise have to leave their own homes and live in residential care. Independent and Voluntary Care agencies - Includes both private and voluntary social care providers who may be contracted to provide domiciliary services on behalf of statutory agencies Occupational Therapist - A professional that works with people to help them achieve purposeful activity to achieve functional outcomes which develop, improve, sustain or restore independence. Through the Night - Provides planned and unplanned non medical personal calls during the night. This service is to provide visits at times during the night, to support people and avoid unnecessary admission to hospital or residential care Personal Assistant - A person employed to support you to meet your individual assessed needs. Reablement - A short-term support designed to give older people or people with disabilities skills, techniques and confidence to manage as many daily living tasks as possible on their own Social Worker - A professional that seeks to improve the quality of life and wellbeing of an individual, group, or community. If you would like this fact sheet in large print, Braille or on audio, please 01267 228703 6