H2LAH

Help to Live at Home

• Do you or someone you know need some extra help?
• Are you finding it more difficult to manage at home?
• Are you concerned that you might be less independent?

What help is available to ensure you can stay safely at home

The Help to Live at Home Service has been created by Wiltshire Council with, and for older people and others who require support, including families or carers. These services all aim to ensure that people will receive the help they need, when they need it and, as far as possible, people are encouraged to be as independent as possible.

From talking to people, the council know you want support that will help you to live interesting, stimulating, and fun lives while remaining safe and secure in your own homes. Help to Live at Home has been designed with this in mind.

Practical help with managing your home and your personal care

Four care companies have been chosen by the council and the NHS to provide care and support to older people and others who need some extra assistance to ensure they can continue to live the lives they want as independently as possible. Each care company works in a different part of the county.

The four companies have been selected becuase they provide excellent care and employ well trained, professional and caring staff. These companies are regularly inspected both by the council and teh Care Quality Commission (CQC),  and have been found to provide high standards of care consistently.

Contact details for these organisations are:

Leonard Cheshire Disability
North and east wiltshire
Tel: 01225 781126

Aster Care Services
East and south Wiltshire
Tel: 01380 829000

Somerset Care at Home
West and noth Wiltshire
Tel: 01225 792925

Enara Complete Care Services
West Wiltshire
01225 791015

Feeling safe in your home

Are you worried about:

Falling?
Remembering to take your medication?
Knowing who to contract in an emergency?

There are pieces of equipment like lifelines, pendant alarms, smoke detectors, carbon monoxide detectors and amny others that can help you to remain safe at home, 24 horus a day. This sort of equipment is called telecare or assitive technology.

The council and NHS Wiltshire have one company to provide this equipment across the county. This company is Medequip-UK, working with Aster Living.

Linked to this equipment is a call centre, provided by Wiltshire Medical Services who also provide the out-of-hours care GP service across the county.

If a telecare alarm is triggered, a member of staff from Wiltshire Medical Services will respond, firstly by spoeaking to you and then either contact a local family member or friend, send out one of their staff, or possibly send an ambulance if one is required.

Wiltshire Medical Services
01249 454000

Medequip-UK
01249 815052

Practical equipment to help you remain independent

There is a variety of simple items available that will help you do what you want at home safely; a grab rail by your stairs, a walking aid, a ramp and many others. Where required, there is also a range of more complex equipment such as hoists or specialist beds mattresses. Medequip-UK now provides all of this equipment on behalf of the council.

For some of this equipement it is best to have an assessment done by a qualified occupational therapist, this can be provided by Wiltshire Council. Other equipment can be provided following a meeting with an assessor, such as those employed by Medequip-UK.

For further information on practical equipment please contact:

Wiltshire Council
0300 456 0111

Medequip-UK
01249 815052

Help and support with planning your care

The council can offer you help and support if you need care and can be contacted on 0300 456 0111 to arrange an assessment. Other services, supported by the council are available for those who wish to make their own decisions on how they receive their care, by means of a direct payment from Wiltshire Council.

A direct payment is money, paid directly to a customer by Wiltshire Council to help them to retin their independence and well being. The Wiltshire Centre for Independent Living is able to help and support you with managing this direct payment.

As a registered Wiltshire charity, Wiltshire CIL is a user led group, established in April 2005 by a voluntary group of people committed to ensuring that all people live independently as full citizens with choice, equal rights and equal opportunities.

Wiltshire CIL offers a range of support from extensive guidance online (www.wiltshirecil.org.uk), email correspondence, workshops to hear from experienced customers, mentoring where someone can support a new customer, joining a local support group or a visit from a Wilts CIL advisor.

If you are interested in the Wiltshire CIL Support Service please contact Wiltshire CIL on 01380 725400 or www.wiltshirecil.org.uk.

Money – paying for care

A small number of people are eligible for financial support from the Council however, for most people in Wiltshire, it will be important to ensure you get the right financial advice if you are thinking of purchasing care. There are some specialist organisations that are accredited by the Society of Later Life Advisors (SOLLA) to provide this advice.

Two such companies working in Wiltshire are:

Ashcourt Rowan
Tel: 01225 475359
Fax: 01225 428760
wilts@ashcourtrowan.co.uk

Care Fees Investment
Tel: 0845 077 5655
Fax: 0845 077 5654
wilts@carefeesinvestment.co.uk

Success measures

As well as the Council monitoring these organisations, there is an independent Customer Reference Group organised by WSUN. This is a group of people, a number of whom currently use these services, who are interested in ensuring that the care and support being provided by these companies, is the best they can be.

Members of the Customer Reference Group have received training and are being supproted to find out what people, using these services really think about them. If you are interested in joining the Customer Reference Group please contact:

Wiltshire & Swindon Users’ Network (WSUN)
01380 871800

careathome.wsun@btconnect.com

How can I access Help to Live at Home?

If you would like further information on the Help to Live at Home service please contact:
0300 456 0111
careathome@wiltshire.gov.uk

Page last updated: July 4th, 2012 at 6:35 am