You can contact the Lincolnshire Carers Service to talk to someone about your caring role. We will listen to you and support you. We aim to help you improve your health and wellbeing and get the balance right in your life again. We can help with: • recognising and valuing the role that you have • opportunities to talk in detail about the caring role and how you feel • tailored information and advice, including about other useful services, for you and the person you are looking after • identifying who else might help you in your caring role, and if necessary, assistance with practical support • supporting your conversations with people and services such as GPs, social care and hospitals so that you are listened to, included and involved • managing a hospital stay • practical training to help with caring • advice and support for carers in the workplace • eligibility for benefits and financial support • opportunities to access support groups and activities so you can meet others in a similar situation • regular contact by telephone, Carers FIRST website, monthly e-bulletins and What’s On guides
• support with creating a Carers’ Emergency Response Plan, which provides detailed instructions for others to follow in an emergency situation • support to access a break or help around the home. Depending on eligibility, this may be funded through a carer’s personal budget How do I contact the Lincolnshire Carers Service? The Lincolnshire Carers Service is delivered in partnership by Lincolnshire County Council’s Customer Service Centre and Carers FIRST. The Customer Service Centre is the first point of contact for all referrals and general enquiries regarding support for carers, and provides a telephone based support service for carers. Contact them on 01522 782224 from 8.00am to 6.00pm, Monday to Friday (except on public holidays) or CarersService@lincolnshire.gov.uk In an emergency, out of these hours, phone the Emergency Duty team on 01522 782333. Carers may contact the service directly, and any professional may refer a carer. Carers FIRST provides a wide range of support for carers in the community. Visit www.lincolnshire.gov.uk/carers or www.carersfirst.org.uk
What are the benefits of a carers’ assessment? A carers’ assessment is the opportunity for you to talk to someone about the impact that caring has on your life. We can talk to you over the telephone, or meet you in a community venue or in your home. The assessment looks at how caring affects your physical, mental and emotional wellbeing and whether you are able and willing to carry on caring. It’s a chance to focus on you, your strengths and your needs. Following the assessment, we make a plan together with you to support you. We also let you know whether you are entitled to a carers’ personal budget. We use the national eligibility criteria for
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carers (Care Act 2014) to help us make this decision (see adjacent). You don’t have to meet the national eligibility criteria to access the wide range of support from the Lincolnshire Carers Service. Anyone who provides or intends to provide care for an adult can request a carers’ assessment by contacting the Lincolnshire Carers Service. Parent carers also have the right to a statutory carers’ assessment. If you feel that what you do to look after your relative or child has changed or increased, you can ask for a new assessment.
Search for care at www.carechoices.co.uk to find support in your area