Accessibility: |
RELEVANT CHAPTERS
The Older People’s Team consists of social workers and community support workers.
The hours of the Team are Monday to Thursday 9am to 5pm and 9am to 4pm on Friday.
The out of hours function is provided by the Emergency Duty Team.
The Bedford Borough Older People’s Team is a team of social workers and support workers who provide support to people over 65 years of age. When someone contacts the Team, they are asked a series of questions. The answers to these questions will helps staff decide what they can do to help. This is known as an assessment.
The Team is available to take enquiries and referrals during the working day Monday to Friday.
The Team aims to provide the person with services to help them live safely and independently, based on their assessment of need and eligibility for services (see Assessment and Eligibility).
Staff will work with the person to:
The Team sometimes assesses an individual’s needs by telephone and sometimes in person by visiting them, depending on their individual situation.
Following assessment a range of services may be provided. These may include:
The Team also supports referrals for sheltered housing.
Some examples of when the Team would arrange support are if:
Services provided by the Team will be reviewed on a regular basis by social care colleagues based in the community and adjusted according to the person’s needs.
The Team works closely with doctors, nurses, occupational therapists, physiotherapists, care agencies and other specialist services.
Carers are a priority for the Team because they play such a valuable role. Staff encourage carers to have a carer’s assessment and to access direct payments for activities of their choice, or carers vouchers to use towards a sitting service. See Assessment, Section 5, Carer’s Assessment.
Staff can only help those whose independence is at the greatest risk if they do not receive a service. The assessment helps the Team give priority as fairly as they can to those in greatest need of support.
There is no charge for the assessment. The worker will discuss any costs relating to the service/s the person needs with them and will arrange for an assessment of their financial circumstances (see Charging and Financial Assessment). They can also assess whether there are any benefits that the person is entitled to receive.
See also Adult Safeguarding.
The Team works closely with the Safeguarding Adults Team to reduce any concerns regarding the abuse of vulnerable adults. Abuse is mistreatment by any other person that violates their human and civil rights.
– End –