What help is available for me as a carer?
Help for you as an individual
Information for carers in Oxfordshire
Changing the way care support is decided, paid for and arranged for an individual is only the start. It is not until the plan is in place that the real difference self directed support can make for an individual becomes apparent.
However, the planning process can be easier for some than others, and you may find yourself very much involved with writing the support plan. There are various people and organisations to help you with this:
- a support broker
- a care manager/social worker
- a specialist service provider, such as Age UK (formerly Age Concern) or Headway.
In addition, we have developed a number of guides and planning tools to help with the planning stage, which you will find in the knowledge hub in the left hand menu.
We have also written a short leaflet explaining what support brokerage is:
- Support Brokerage in Oxfordshire (.pdf, 1.6Mb) Please note that the files is large and may take longer to download as a result.
Finally, we have drawn up a list of links to websites of organisations you might find useful, and to pages of relevance of organisations you might not have thought of yourself.
Help for you as an individual
If you are worried about your own health and wellbeing as a carer, speak to your GP to discuss your situation. If you are not well, your role as a carer for someone else will become harder. You can also contact NHS Direct if you would like to speak to a health adviser on the phone instead: 0845 4647.
Oxfordshire County Council offers support for carers to sustain your health and wellbeing. You can contact the council to arrange a Carer's Assessment at any point, even if you have had one before. You may find yourself eligible for support you are not aware of, such as Carer's Allowance or a one-off direct payment to cover activities or equipment to help you in your role as carer.
Examples include driving lessons, counselling, massage, wellbeing services, gym membership, exercise bike, bicycle, industrial capacity washing machine, mobile phone, answerphone, football coaching lessons, training for the caring role, housework, gardening, a revamp to simplify the gardening, help with transport costs, a holiday for the carer.
To establish what help is available for you and your specific circumstances, you can ask for a carer's assessment to be carried out. To arrange this, please ring the Social and Health Care Team on 0845 050 7666 who can advise you on this. You can also find information on the County Council website if you would like to read up on the carer's assessment.
Information for carers in Oxfordshire
There are various pages with information for carers on the the County Council website which you might find helpful, including information on:
- what to do in an emergency
- entitlements as a carer, such as Carer's Allowance and help with transport costs
- if you need a break from your role as a carer
- advocacy
- parents and carers of disabled children
- help available for working carers
- support groups for carers
The links for carers page in the left-hand menu has a number of useful links to other organisations offering advice, support and advocary to carers.
There are also a number of local and national organisations for carers. You will find links to these organisations by clicking on the tab in the left-hand menu. The knowledge hub for carers, also accessible via the left-hand menu, offers downloadable documents including assessment forms for a Carer's Assessment and a guide for carer's breaks and services.
Changes to Carers' Services in Oxfordshire
From 1st April 2011 the way services for carers are provided are changing. A new organisation, Carers Oxfordshire, will provide the following services:
- Information on a range of Carer issues, specific to their individual situation, for example information about benefits and entitlements, support services, carers’ breaks, emergency back up, employment, looking after themselves, training opportunities to support Carers in their caring role and much more.
- Advice and support over the phone including support to complete self assessments.
- Advice and support face to face in community settings, GP surgeries and at home, to the most vulnerable carers who are not receiving support through Social & Community Services.
- Signposting to other organisations and services.
- Information about support groups and connections to their nearest one or support to establish a new group in their area.
- Information about how to have their voice heard through Oxfordshire Carers’ Forum.
The service is available to Carers, families and friends, professionals and other organisations.
To contact Carers Oxfordshire:
Telephone: 0845 050 7666
Email: carersoxfordshire@oxfordshire.gov.uk
Or visit: www.carersoxfordshire.org.uk
