Frequently Asked Questions

Older People's Services

 

Please also see further information about Social Services >>


What are Day Services?

What is 'Day Care'
'Day Care' is a shorthand term to describe any kind of organised activity that takes you out of your home during the day, and often means going to a Day Centre to join in activities there. Day Centres can be run by local authorities, by voluntary organisations (sometimes with local authority funding) or by commercial organisations (such as Residential Homes).

Social Services often arrange places in Day Centres for people as part of an overall 'package of care,' and some Day Centres only take people through Social Services. Others, however, are open to anyone.

A more informal kind of 'Day Care' is provided by Luncheon Clubs and some Residential Homes that are happy to take non-residents for all or part of a day (see below).

There is usually a charge for attending a Day Centre and there is a separate charge for meals. You should ask about this when you contact a Centre.

Day Centres for Older People
Centres vary in size, but all have a strong social element and offer a wide range of activities, including crafts, gardening, games such as dominoes, cards, bingo, draughts and chess, quizzes and exercises. Many provide regular outings and invite entertainers and speakers. Some offer special programmes for people suffering from dementia.

Centres are usually open for about five hours in the middle of the day and provide a midday meal. Some provide personal care for the people who attend, including in some cases, bathing. Some also offer other services, such as laundry, chiropody or hairdressing, but usually charge extra for these.

Many Centres have their own transport and can collect people from hoe and take them back at the end of the session.

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What is a Home Care Assistant?

Home Care Assistants enable people to remain in their own homes with as much independence as possible. They give day to day personal care for the elderly or people with physical and mental disabilities who are unable to look after themselves and who, without such help, might need residential, nursing or hospital care.

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What can a Home Care Assistant do for me?

Home Care Assistants visit people in their homes to help them with their personal care needs which include dressing, toileting, feeding, washing, shaving and cleaning teeth as well as help with the practical tasks of general housework and shopping.

There is also some transferring and handling of clients who need help in getting to and from bed / chair / toilet. Training is given in using specialist equipment such as hoists and in transferring and handling techniques.

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Can I get Help when I Return Home after being in Hospital?

Help when you Leave Hospital
You will not be discharged from Hospital until you are medically fit to go home, but you may still need some care when you get there. You will be able to discuss this with Health Service and Social Services staff before you leave Hospital, so that they can make a proper assessment of what care you will need, and it can be arranged before you leave.

Social Services have staff in many Hospitals, but if the Hospital you are in does not have a Social Work Department, someone will come to see you from the local Social Services office. Ask you Ward Nurse to put you in touch with Social Services.

'Home from Hospital' Scheme
If you need some help to get 'back on your feet,' for example, after an operation, there are also 'Home from Hospital' Schemes that help you settle back into your own home. These schemes provide a short period of help with, for example, shopping and meals. Individual schemes operate differently, but the Hospital Social Work Department can give you details.

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What do I do if a Member of my Family or a Friend Needs Help from Social Services?

What Social Services does

Social Services and Community Care
A great deal of the work Social Services does is to help people continue to live in their own homes as independently as possible, whatever their disability or age. Social Services plays an important part in helping people get the Community Care Services they need, and can provide:-

  • Information about the Community Care Services that are available
  • An assessment of what help might be needed
  • Practical help for some people

Help that Can be Arranged Can Include:-

  • Help at home, such as help with personal care
  • A visit from an Occupational Therapist to see if there is any special equipment that will make life at home easier (for example, a bath seat or rails that will make getting around safer)
  • Advice and help for people with sight or hearing problems
  • Regular visits to a Day Centre
  • Help to learn new skills (for example, if you are disabled and want to get a job) or to re-learn old ones (for example, after a stroke)
  • Help to give people looking after someone disabled or frail at home a break from day to day caring
  • Long term care in a Residential or Nursing Home

Help from Social Services
Social Services Departments have a limited budget and can't provide help for everyone who asks. They concentrate their efforts on help that will keep people independent for as long as possible (such as help when people first come out of Hospital, or providing simple equipment that will make life easier) and long term help for people with the most severe needs.

Contact Social Services

An 'Assessment'
When you contact your local Social Services office you will talk first to someone who will ask about the problems you are having. If the Department cannot help, the person you speak to will suggest other ways in which you might get the help needed.

If the Department can help, you will have an appointment to meet a Social Worker (often in your own home) for a detailed 'Assessment' of what help you need. This means that you will be able to talk in detail about the problems you are having and the Social Worker (often a 'Care Manager') will try to find out the best way of helping. Sometimes other people, such as your Doctor, will contribute to the discussions and you can, if you want, ask a friend or a member of your family to be present when you meet the Social Worker.

When it has been agreed what help you need, and how it will be provided, you get a written 'Care Plan' and this Plan is regularly reviewed with you.

A 'Carer's Assessment'
If you spend a great deal of your time looking after someone disabled and / or frail at home you are what is termed a 'carer,' and you have a right to ask Social Services to assess what help you need to go on looking after them. You can as for an Assessment of the care the person you look after needs and a separate Assessment of the help you need.

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What does the Meals on Wheels Service do?

Is it Becoming Difficult to Cook for Yourself?
If you are having difficulty getting to the shops, you can get frozen meals that can be heated in a microwave or a conventional oven, delivered to your door.

Many restaurants and takeaways operate a home delivery service in the evenings.

The Meals on Wheels Service delivers a hot midday meal and is for people who are unable to cook for themselves because they are old, frail or disabled and there is no one else who can help them. Meals are paid for when they are delivered.

Contact Social Services

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What is Residential Care?

For some people Residential or Nursing Care will be the best or only way of meeting their Community Care needs. Residential Care can be provided in a Residential Care Home or in a Nursing Home on a short or long term basis.

Residential Homes provide accommodation, meals and personal care such as help with bathing and eating.

Nursing Homes provide similar services to Residential Homes with the addition of Nursing Support from qualified Nursing staff.

If you need Residential or Nursing Home Care then you will be able to consider which Home is the most suitable for you. To help you choose you will be able to visit some Homes before you make your decision.

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What about Paying for Care?

What Happens if I am asked to Pay for Care Services:

Charges for some Domiciliary and Day Care Services
Wrexham County Borough Council must work within the financial limitations placed upon it by the Government. However, it recognises the important part of that Community Care Services play in the lives of many people and is committed to maintaining the best possible standards and widest range of services.

Rather than make cuts in vital services a Charging Policy has been developed for some services based on a person's ability to pay.

The brochure 'A Guide to Charges for Services' explains which services are charged for and how the charges are worked out. You can obtain a copy from the Representation and Complaints Officer.

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What is Supported / Sheltered Housing?

Sheltered Housing (Retirement Accommodation)
Sheltered Housing is mainly for older people and is usually a group of small houses or flats supervised by a Manager who can give some help when needed.

Schemes are run by local Councils, Housing Associations or private companies. Some offer rented accommodation, others leasehold accommodation that can be bought privately.

If you already live in a Council or Housing Association house of flat, or you rent accommodation privately, it may be possible to transfer from your current home to sheltered accommodation.

To find out further information please contact the Council Housing Department.

Supported Housing
Supported Housing is accommodation designed to meet the particular needs of people with disabilities (for example, with everything accessible to someone in a wheelchair). Schemes vary in how much support (such as an emergency call system) is provided, and are run by local Councils or Housing Associations.

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