Community Care Team

The Community Care Team offers a wide range of Community Care services.

Community Care services covers a wide range of age groups from children with special needs to older people in need of support.

The Community Care Teams aim to help those people to live as independently as they can in their own homes or in homely facilities in the community.

Community Care Teams
Lewis	16 Francis Street, Stornoway
Harris	Council Offices, Tarbert, Isle of Harris
The Uists	Council Offices, Balivanich, Benbecula
Barra	Council Offices, Castlebay, Isle of Barra

Some of the services provided include:

• Home Care - Home care Leaflet
  
  
• Community care Assessment - Caring for People at Home Leaflet and Looking After People as they get Old Leaflet
  
  
• Residential Care (with link to Care Homes Brochures)
  
  
• Mental Health - provides a range of services for people living in the community who are affected by mental health problems. Some of which include assessment of needs, specialist advice, practical and emotional support, day occupational/supported work placement. (For contact details of the Mental Health Senior Practitioner, click here)
  
  The Local Authority is fulfilling it's duties in providing Mental Health Officers who would specifically carry out work under:-
  • Criminal Procedures (Scotland) Act 1995 (b)
  • Adults with Incapacity (Scotland) Act 2000 (c)
  • Mental Health (Care and Treatment) (Scotland) Act 2003

  This is linked in with Health Services Mental Health leaflet (Adobe pdf document)
  

• Physical Disabilites - a full range of services for disabled people living in the area. These include assessment of needs, aids and equipment to help with tasks of daily living, funding to meet the cost of temporary adaptations to houses, provision of day services opportunities and supported accommodation
  
  
• Learning Disabilites - there is a full range of services and support available to people with learning difficulties and their families, including access to all general services such as assessment of needs, advice, support etc, plus:
  • an assessment and therapy unit, and respite care or children from birth to 18yrs funded by Social Work, and run by NCH
  • the OFTTI project funded by Social Work and run by Lews Castle College. This provides opportunities for training towards independence and employment opportunities with job coaching and work related experience
  • residential and respite care, plus day occupational placement for adults with learning difficulties
  • a Local Area Co-ordinator who has a background in working with people with learning difficulties and can offer specialist advice, practical and emotional support and links closely with other agencies such as Health and Voluntary Sector.

The Local Authority is working towards the Scottish Executive recommendations in the SAY Review for people with learning difficulties. (Information Leaflet). (For contact details of the LD Area Co-ordinator, click here)

• Direct Payments - A Direct Payment can be offered by the Social Work Department to people assessed as needing Community Care Services and who meet Direct Payment eligibility criteria. (for more information please click on DP link)
  
  
• Blue Badge Scheme - This Scheme is a national arrangement of parking concessions for people with severe walking difficulties, whether they are a driver or a passanger.
  
  Blue Badge Application Form / Renewal Form (MS Word)
  
  
• Faire - the 24-hour-a-day service operated by Social Work Department to provide reassurance for people living on their own, immediate response in an emergency, reassurance and support for carers. For more information click on the link to direct you to FAIRE's own mini site.
  
  
• Supporting People - Supporting people is a new integrated policy and funding framework for housing support services introduced from April 2003, The aim is to provide good quality services, focused on the needs of the users, to enable vulnerable people to live independently in the community, in all types of accommodation and tenure
  
  The Social Work department is responsible for the Western Isles supporting people funding from the Scottish Executive.
  
  
• Visual Impairment Services Highland - will provide an assessment and rehabilitation service for the whole of the Western Isles. Staff from Visual Impairment Services Highland will visit the Western Isles on a two monthly cycle for a week period on each occasion (Information Pack)

 

People who wish to seek further information or initial advice and assistance can contact the Community Care Team, Social Work and speak to the Duty Social Worker between 9.00am and 5.00pm Monday Wednesday and Friday where a worker is available to give advice and assistance either in person or by telephone. No appointment is necessary.

Further information on Home Care and Community Care Assessment will be added to these pages in due course.