Carers’ views sought on move to Care Homes

North Tyneside Council are asking Carers for their views and experiences of the person they Care For  moving from their own home to a Care Home. They would like to hear from carers/family members of people who are living in care homes.

They want to find out what support and/or services would have made a difference to carers before their loved one moved into a care home.

To do that they would like to hear about your views on what would have helped in your situation. Come along for a coffee and a chat on

Friday 6^th July 2012 at 10.30am until 12.30pm at

St. Columbas United reformed Church

30 Northumberland Square,

 North Shields NE30 1PW

 To book your place please call the Council via Sue Beresford on 0191 6437100

For more information please call Marilyn Wilkie or Jemma Hurrell on 0191 6437270

Local Mental Health Services Accreditation Scheme

The Home Treatment Accreditation Scheme (HTAS) works to improve the quality of crisis resolution and home treatment services for people with acute mental illness. It engages staff in a process of review which identifies good practice and high quality care and services are supported to identify areas for improvement.

Involving service users and carers in HTAS is a priority and people such as Carers with experience of  crisis resolution or home treatment services are encouraged to get involved in the accreditation process.

 Accreditation helps assure everyone of the quality of the service being provided. The Centre’s Mental Health Carer Development Worker is working with our local Crisis Resolution Home treatment service to ensure carers views are heard.

Learn more about the programme on the royal college of psychiatrists’ website http://www.rcpsych.ac.uk

A new strategy for Carers

The Carers’ Centre has been working with North Tyneside Primary Care Trust (the local NHS) and Council to develop a carers strategy for North Tyneside.  There has been consultation with carers and professionals about the support that is currently available and any gaps in the borough; using this intelligence to inform the strategy.

Please download the draft Strategy Document North Tyneside Carers’ Strategy

We would really appreciate your views about the priorities identified and the action plan.  We would be grateful if you could send your feedback to the Centre at enquiries@ntcarers.co.uk or to Susan Meins at Susan.Meins@northtyneside.gov.uk by 4pm on Thursday 31^st May 2012.

Linda Arkley, the Elected Mayor will officially launch the strategy at an event we have arranged during National Carers’ Week (Wednesday 20^th June at 1pm at the Saville Exchange in North Shields) for carers and professionals. A flier will be sent out soon with news about the event but if you would like to book a place please don’t hesitate to contact the Centre on 643 2298 or at enquiries@ntcarers.co.uk

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Sharing the Caring passes CQC Inspection

Our carer respite service, Sharing the Caring, received an unannounced inspection by the Care Quality Commission (CQC) on Wednesday 02^nd May 2012. The outcome of the inspection was that the service was meeting all the essential standards of quality and safety inspected.

The inspector talked to the Centre Manager (who is the Registered Individual with CQC), the Sharing the Caring Co-ordinator, looked at records of people who used the service and talked to staff and carers. The inspection report highlights that everyone who CQC spoke with was overwhelmingly positive about the care and support they received from the service.  Quotes included:-

“It is excellent care.”

“The vast improvement my relative has had is down to this service.”

“I’ve no complaints at all, they’re fantastic people, go out of their way to help.”

The centre would like to thank all the staff for providing such quality support and to carers who gave up their time to speak to the inspector. The inspection report will be available to download in a week’s time.

Sharing the Caring can provide you with a regular break from your caring role.  The service provides quality stimulative support to the person you care for to ensure you benefit from your time out. For more information about Sharing the Caring, please contact the centre on 0191 643 2298.