Carer Support Service Moray_Information pack

Carer Support Service (Moray)

Supporting Carers in Moray

You are a carer if you provide unpaid care for a family member, friend or neighbour because of physical or mental ill health, disability, frailty or substance use. We are here to help you.

01343 556031

carersmoray@quarriers.org.uk www.quarriers.org.uk/carersmoray

I really enjoyed the activities and meeting other carers. It just takes your mind off your caring role for a while.

It never occurred to me I was carer and might be entitled to benefits.

What to expect after contacting the service

You may have contacted us yourself, or someone may have contacted us on your behalf and asked us to speak with you.

However you reach us, a member of our team will take some basic information about your situation and tell you a bit about the support we can provide.

Registration

You will be asked if you would like to register with the service, to automatically receive our quarterly newsletters and other useful updates.

If you want to take advantage of this opportunity, and give your permission, we will store your information on our secure database.

Adult Carer Support Plan - ACSP

Thanks to the Carers (Scotland) Act 2016, every adult carer is entitled to complete an Adult Carer Support Plan. This gives us a better understanding of your situation and helps identify the support you feel you need.

You can:

• request a paper copy to complete.

• complete one with a Family Wellbeing Worker (FWW).

If you request a paper copy, you will be given the information you need to get started.

If you want to complete the ACSP with a FWW, they may do it there and then with you, or make an appointment for you to:

• come into the office, or

• meet you at home or another suitable location.

Your ACSP will lead to the creation of a Support Summary detailing the changes you want to see and the actions you have agreed that yourself and others will take to facilitate those changes.

Once you have reviewed and signed your ACSP and Support Summary, you will have a copy to keep.

Another copy will be shared with Moray Health and Social Care Partnership to enable the introduction or increase of other supports. If you would prefer your ACSP not to be shared in this way, please let us know.

Levels of support

To help ensure we offer support where it is most needed, your ACSP will also help us identify the level and frequency of contact and support you need.

Our intention is not to be in touch with you just for the sake of it. If you only want to be kept up to date with what’s happening, we’ll record you as ‘info only’, but you can contact us when you need to.

Carers in more complex circumstances or experiencing significant difficulties can receive more intensive support. They will have a named worker who will maintain contact on a regular basis for an agreed period of time, after which it may be possible to review the frequency of contact in line with the carer’s needs at that point.

Timescales

We aim to respond to requests for support within a maximum of three working days, and where we are helping complete an ACSP, to do this within 28 days.

We recognise your caring role can sometimes cause delays, so we’ll work to your timings wherever possible.

How we use your information

We encourage you to register with Quarriers Carer Support Service (Moray). This means your details will be held on our database, and you’ll receive newsletters and mailings from us by post and electronically (depending on your preferences) with information that may be relevant and interesting to you in your role.

We don’t share your details with other agencies, but may occasionally mail information on their behalf where it’s of interest to carers.

The service supports carers to complete an Adult Carer Support Plan (ACSP) that identifies their support needs and appropriate help to meet those needs. We do this on behalf of Moray Council. The information we gather through your ACSP is shared with Moray Council to ensure they have a complete picture of the lives of carers and those they support, and to make it possible for the right services to be put in place.

Once you have completed your ACSP, we will agree an action plan with you. This may include putting you in touch with other specialist organisations who are able to give you the best information or support for your circumstances or those of the person you care for.

Anonymous data from your ACSP is also required by Scottish Government for statistical and research purposes. We submit anonymised records to the Scottish Government twice-yearly as part of the Carers Census, a national data gathering exercise to help ensure the Government remains aware of the numbers of carers, the nature of their caring roles, and the impact caring has on those who provide it.

You can agree to any/all/none of these uses of your data during your registration and ACSP completion process.

You can also ask to be removed from our database at any time, after which we will no longer hold your information to make contact. Should you change your mind, a quick call to us is all that’s needed to initiate contact again.

We will always tell you what we do with your data.

For more information about how Quarriers uses personal data, see the Privacy Notice on our website at www.quarriers.org.uk

Where do we fit in?

In line with the Public Bodies (Joint Working) Scotland Act 2014, Health and Social Care Moray is the new integrated organisation formed by staff from The Moray Council and NHS Grampian who work in the health and social care services for which the Moray Integrated Joint Board now has responsibility.

Community Care

Community Care supports adults who live in Moray to keep their independence, stay safe and enjoy a reasonable quality of life. Support may be available if you or someone you care for:

• is an older person becoming frail

• is physically disabled or ill

• has a sight or hearing impairment

• has a mental health illness, which makes coping with everyday life difficult

• needs support because of a learning disability

• has problems with drugs or alcohol

• needs help to look after a family member or friend

• needs to stay safe and free from harm

Quarriers Carer Support Service (Moray)

We are contracted by The Moray Council to deliver support services to unpaid carers of all ages in Moray. We carry out Adult Carer Support Plans (ACSP) on their behalf.

Where a Community Care Assessment will highlight support required by the person you look after, the ACSP highlights areas where specific support for you, the carer, would be beneficial.

The integration of health and social care is about putting people and not services at the centre of decisions. It aims to improve services, to make them seamless and more responsive to the people who use them so that they are able to live better lives, often with the extra help they need.

Community Care Assessment—CCA (different from your Adult Carer Support Plan)

This is often carried out for the person you care for and is the route to unlocking services like Homecare Support, Shared Lives and Self-Directed Support for that person.

Initial contact:

Access Care Team

Call 01343 563999

Email accesscareteam@moray.gov.uk

We can provide access to respite funding, emotional support, advice and information, skills and knowledge development, peer support, counselling, and emergency and future planning.

Health and Social Care Moray, via community care packages, manage the provision of support like Shared Lives, Homecare and Self-Directed Support identified in the CCA and ACSP.

Your rights as a carer

We all have human rights, but unpaid carers in Scotland have additional rights enshrined in two documents:

• The Carers (Scotland) Act 2016 which came into force on 1 April 2018

• The Carers’ Charter – March 2018

These give unpaid carers a right to:

• an Adult Carer Support Plan or Young Carer Statement

• support to meet eligible needs identified as a result

• involvement in services and care planning for your cared for

• involvement in the hospital discharge process of your cared for

The aim of these rights?

• improved health and wellbeing for you as a carer

• sustain your ability to provide care

• support you to maintain a life of your own

Taking care of yourself is one way of exercising your rights as a carer, and is something every carer needs to do.

Carers Scotland’s report on the lives of carers highlighted the following:

• 21% of carers said their physical health was ‘bad’ or ‘very bad’ and 30% said their mental health was ‘bad’ or ‘very bad’.

• 29% of carers said they felt lonely often or always. 33% of people caring for more than 35 hours a week said they felt lonely often or always, compared with 17% of people caring for less than 35 hours a week.

• Carers receiving Carer’s Allowance were more likely to report ‘bad’ or ‘very bad’ physical health (26%) and mental health (37%). Carers with a household income of less than £1,000 a month were even more likely to report ‘bad’ or ‘very bad' physical health (31%) and mental health (40%).

Adult Carer Support Plan

What is an Adult Carer Support Plan?

As a carer, you are entitled to support in your own right to help you continue providing care to the person you look after.

The Carers (Scotland) Act 2016, which came into force on 1 April 2018, is a key piece of legislation containing a package of provisions to support carers’ health and wellbeing.

Among those provisions is:

• A duty for local authorities to provide support to carers, based on the carer’s identified needs which meet the local eligibility criteria.

• Every adult carer to be offered the opportunity to complete an Adult Carer Support Plan (ACSP) to identify their support needs and personal outcomes.

Quarriers provides this service on behalf of the local authority, Moray Council.

What does it do?

An ACSP is a chance to look at your current caring circumstances and identify issues and where you might benefit from some support.

Your needs might be in relation to:

• managing the time you have to yourself

• gaining a better understanding of the condition you care for

• stayingin, or finding, work

• accessing practical skills to improve your caring role and/or your wellbeing

• spending time away from your caring role

What questions might I be asked?

Your ACSP will cover:

• personal and contact details

• whether the person you care for has had a Community Care Assessment

• your caring role - how often, what you do

• whether you have relevant legal paperwork in place, e.g. power of attorney, guardianship

• services currently in place, e.g. homecare

• who else helps you out, or could

• specific difficulties that you may be having

• the impact caring is having on your own health and wellbeing

• your opportunity to have a life of your own

• your employment situation

• the financial implications of caring

• emergency measures you have in place

• your hopes for the future

• your concerns

• what help you think you need

This might seem like a lot of information but it is important to paint as accurate a picture as possible so you get the best possible support. Your information is kept confidential and only used with your permission.

Once you’ve completed an ACSP, you and the Family Wellbeing Worker will agree a Support Summary highlighting where support is required, the outcomes you seek, what support will look like and (perhaps) where it will come from.

We need your consent to progress support, whether we provide it directly or refer you to other appropriate agencies. You must sign both your ACSP and your personal support summary to consent to engage with the supports offered. Without that consent, we will be unable to do anything other than provide you with newsletters and other, more general information.

You can complete the ACSP yourself, or a Quarriers Family Wellbeing Worker can talk you through the process.

What happens if things change?

You are automatically entitled to an annual review, but if things change dramatically before that, your ACSP can be updated sooner.

Adult Carer Support Plan checklist

Preparing for your Adult Carer Support Plan

Use the following checklist to help you prepare for your ACSP. Keep the information handy so you can refer to it during your conversation with the Family Wellbeing Worker or while you are filling in the ACSP yourself.

Washing/bathing

Toileting/using continence aids

Getting in and out of bed/transferring

Eating/drinking

Dressing/undressing

Housework/gardening/ shopping

Cooking/laundry

Dealing with paperwork

Transportation/travel

Daytime safety

Care at night

Emotional support

Coping with challenging behaviour

Communication/ understanding

Advocacy

Arranging/attending appointments

Collecting prescriptions

Medication

Dealing with finances

Work and study

Do you work, paid or voluntary? If you work, does caring make work difficult?

If you study, does caring make studying difficult?

Do you have a condition which has an impact on caring?

Would your own assessment help?

Do you usually get a good night’s sleep?

Do you have time for hobbies or social contact?

Do you feel isolated?

Does caring impact on other relationships?

Do you ever get a total break/go on holiday?

Do you know where to find advice and support?

Have you had any training to help with your caring role?

Do you know what respite services are available locally?

Do you think you are receiving all the benefits you should?

Do you get information in a language/format you understand and suiting your cultural/religious beliefs?

Do you know who to contact in an emergency?

Do you have an emergency plan in place?

Is your home fit for your caring role?

Do you feel safe in your home?

Do you feel you have a choice about caring?

Does your GP know you are a carer?

Are you willing/able to continue caring?

Do you have confidants to talk to about caring? More about

Coping with the ups and downs

It’s human nature

In the beginning, we were naturally hard wired to think negatively, to think there was always something bad around the next corner. Listening to those bad thoughts kept us alive. However, as times changed and we evolved, our need to be so negative decreased.

Unfortunately, those thoughts were so well developed within our psyche that today it often seems easier to just stay in that mindset. It’s no longer T-rex coming for us but some other issue, or even the weather!

Life’s like that

Make no mistake, life is a rollercoaster of ups and downs. You have no sooner enjoyed the glorious view from the up than you are hurtling uncontrollably to the next down.

When you have a caring role on top of the normal, everyday stuff that gets thrown in your direction, it can be hard to see the positive.

Why is negativity so bad?

Negativity is a bit like ivy. If you have ever tried to get rid of that plant from a house wall, you’ll understand that it invades as much as it can and hangs on for dear life. Negativity is a bit like that.

If you allow negative thoughts in, before you know it, they have taken root and you are only thinking negatively about life:

• Everything becomes a chore.

• You can’t be bothered to do things, especially for yourself.

• You get tired, have no energy.

• Your body systems slow down.

• You get aches and pains.

• Your temper is on a short fuse.

Any of this sound familiar?

Not only does negativity pervade you but it also affects your interaction with others. Have you ever found yourself not wanting to be in someone’s company because they bring you down too? If you are giving off a negative vibe or your patience is short, do you find that your cared for’s behaviour can be a bit more challenging?

The consequences of negativity can make life even harder.

How do I change?

You need to identify what you want to change. You need to identify why you want to change it. Only then will you have the desire to make a change.

Nothing worth having is easy in the getting, so it’s fine to stay as you are, but understand the consequences and the impact.

If you are fed up always being more down than up and are prepared to put in some effort then:

• Try to use positive words, e.g. rather than “don’t do it like that”, use “could you try it like this?” instead.

• Instead of focusing on the bad stuff, think about three good things, e.g. it’s a beautiful day, I had a nice chat with Jo at the shops, Dad didn’t have a fall today.

• The minute you hear a little negative voice in your head distract and replace it with a good one, e.g. tell yourself a joke or sing a song to yourself.

These really do work if you stick with it but do allow yourself to fall off the wagon occasionally! After all, you have to take the ups with the downs.

You can’t pour from an empty cup

4

Please yourself first, then others.

6

Give yourself permission to rest.

Notice when you’re pushing yourself too hard.

Stick to your boundaries.

Give yourself the feeling of love.

3

Say 'no’ when your gut says no.

Feel your feelings without shame or judgement.

More tips for coping well:

Keep active

A wee walk each day can blow the cobwebs away!

Doesn’t have to be far.

Stay in touch

5

Walk away from relationships that hurt you.

7

10

Be okay with not being busy, and knowing you are still enough.

Forgive yourself when you fall out of routine.

There are lots of ways to stay in touch: phone, text, email, letter, Zoom, Facebook, other social media platforms, face-to-face socially distanced… You just have to reach out.

Do something creative

Why not join one of the various craft sessions available locally or online? You'll find details on facebook.

Our impact

97% Rate the service highly. Quarriers understands carers' needs.

90%

Quarriers is an amazing service with fantastic staff who are always happy to help.

A massive difference in my mental state.

97% Quarriers has improved carer quality of life.

Changed my life and improved my wellbeing. Made me feel less alone in regards to caring.

Helped point me in the right direction.

It made me feel as though a great weight had been lifted from my shoulders.

I would be very lost without it, and I can talk or email things through things with someone.

I have been impressed with the communication from Quarriers, finding out various interesting and applicable information for me and us as a family.

96% Quarriers is helpful upon contact.

You can let off steam and it's great to know there is someone there for advice.

Someone to call on if needed. A friendly face. Information.

Such a great service and so much needed.

I have felt that I have a voice should I choose to speak, to channel my energies and thoughts for change. I have been grateful for all the info updates - consistent and relevant. I have appreciated the support I have received.

It has made a massive difference knowing there is support without judgement. Help to get financial support to help me get breaks creatively was great and has given me an ongoing outlet to have a break. Support during lockdown has ensured I have had someone to talk to during this difficult time.

Useful links

Moray Council Access Care Team

First port of call for community care support for the person you look after.

01343 563999

accesscareteam@moray.gov.uk

Moray Wellbeing Hub

Lots of useful learning and peer support opportunities.

www.moraywellbeinghub.org.uk hello@moraywellbeinghub.org.uk

Pathways to Wellbeing - Moray

Designed to help you find the support you need, when you need it to manage your mental wellbeing.

https://discoverpathwaysmoray.org.uk/

Care Inspectorate

Set up in April 2011 by the Scottish Government as a single regulatory body for social work and social care services.

www.careinspectorate.com enquiries@careinspectorate.gov.scot 0345 600 9527

Office of the Public Guardian (Scotland) Information on Power of Attorney and Guardianship. 01324 678300

OPG@scotcourts.gov.uk

YouTube

Lots of useful videos relating to caring including moving and handling and first aid.

www.youtube.com

Quarriers Arrows Service

Drug and alcohol support in Moray. 01343 610500 arrows@quarriers.org.uk

The Bow Recovery Café

A great place to meet pals for a cuppa or to enjoy a deliciously tasty meal.

The Square, 61-63 High Street, Elgin Quarriers Carer Support Service (Moray)

Lots of useful information keeping you up-to-date with what’s going on in the world of caring.

www.facebook.com/ quarrierscarersupportmoray/

Citizens Advice Bureau, Moray Moray Citizens Advice Bureau offers free, impartial and confidential advice to the citizens of Moray. They deliver support and guidance on a range of topics, giving people the information they need to deal with any situation and improve their lives.

01343 550088

6 Moss Street, Elgin IV30 1LU