APRIL 2001 THE CHEPSTOW AND CALDICOT CARERS' SUPPORT GROUP The Resource Centre, 5a. Church Road, Caldicot. NP26 4BP. Telephone 01291-420666 or 01291-420602 Dear Carer, Our March meeting saw Helen Neild who is working for the Welsh Office talk to some of our carers about carers and work - how difficult it is to continue working and caring and how almost impossible it is to contemplate getting a job (however small) when you are already caring. If you are in work already, it is so important to get advice from the Benefits Agency Customer Service office on what your financial position would be if you are considering giving up work. We asked Social Services to come to discuss how they were progressing on Carers Assessments and what was going on throughout the county with carers. They told us about the Practice Exchange that had been held in the county with social workers from different areas getting together and exchanging ideas and methods on carers assessments. There are some areas of really good practice here in the south. Social Services are also developing a much more user-friendly assessment form for carers which will take into account the health and emotions of the carer as well as housing issues and other commitments that a carer might have with other members of his or her family. Please remember that you can ask for a carer's assessment now even if the person you are caring for has turned down an assessment. However, social services are not doing assessments on all carers, but they are trying to identity carers whose input is 'significant' or 'substantial'. If you feel that you would like a carer's assessment, ring social services and talk to them on 01291-635666. Carers often turn down the initial offer of an assessment for many reasons. I am sure that some carers think 'What can an assessment do for me?' Be assured that having a Carers' Assessment can be of great help and benefit to you. Another issue that we discussed was the out of hours contact numbers for social workers and private agencies who provide home care. Some carers have had problems with private agencies arriving late or not turning up at all. They have also been unable to contact the agency direct, with no-one answering the telephone. Social services will be putting the telephone number of the agency involved in the care on the care plan, so that problems will be dealt direct with them. Agencies have assured social services that there will always be someone on the end of the telephone. If there is a real emergency, which is very rare, the procedure is to call the police who will then contact the duty social worker on call for Gwent. The agencies who provide services in this area are coming along to our meeting in April in the morning to discuss with carers the problems that they have been experiencing and hopefully reassuring us that that is all in the past. This is on Thursday 5th April. The afternoon of that meeting is taken up with a talk from Terri Williams from the Stroke Association in Cardiff, who has been to our group before and gives a very informative talk with lots of information about strokes and caring for strokes. I can thoroughly recommend that those of you who are caring for someone who has had a stroke will find it very worthwhile. You will probably remember that some extra money for breaks for carers has come from the Welsh Office with the National Carers Strategy. This money has now arrived with Crossroads, and Age Concern in this area and they are now in a position to provide EXTRA care for those who would like it for a SPECIAL event. This is not to replace care that is already given, but if you have been invited to a wedding where you might have to stay overnight, then this is the opportunity for you to request some extra respite for a special occasion. It may be that you have a hospital appointment for yourself, or something else unexpected that has cropped up. I would even go as far to say that for our male carers, a RUGBY match!! Contact Chepstow and Caldicot Crossroads (for Alzheimer's or dementia) on 01291-635632, Monmouthshire Crossroads (for carers caring for someone with a physical disability) on 01291-672750 or Age Concern on 01633-763330. A little more information on the Council Tax. The 'Disability Reduction Scheme' is available if one of the rooms in your property is used mainly by a disabled resident, or they use a wheelchair in the home, or there is a second bathroom or kitchen needed by that person. For those of you who are 'on-line' with your computer, there is a new internet shopping service offered between 'RADAR' and 'Totalise'. It is called shopability and you will be able to buy items without having to leave home. The website address is www.totaliseshop.co.uk I hope to see as many of you as possible at the April meeting at Boverton House on Thursday April 5th, or in May on Thursday 3rd May. Contact Nan Smith on 01291-421665 or Alison Short on 01291-623771 for transport to meetings. Best wishes, Patsy Lewis.