28.08.12: Could you use help, support or care? Cornwall Carers Service (CCS) is a new service hosted by Cornwall Rural Community Council (CRCC) and commissioned by Cornwall Council’s Adult Care and Support, Children, Schools and Families and the Primary Care Trust.

CCS is free to use and offers a wide range of information, services and support to informal and unpaid carers.

Directgov.co.uk described a carer as “…someone who looks after and supports a friend, relative or neighbour who could not manage without their help. This could be due to age, physical or mental illness or disability. It does not mean a professional care-worker or personal assistant who gets paid for their work. Three in five people in the UK will become carers at some point in their lives.”

CCS is an effective collaborative partnership between four organisations each bringing their own expertise and contributions to the development and delivery of the service;

Age UK Cornwall are hosting the dedicated carers Helpline 01872 266383 (Mon-Fri 8:00am-6:00pm) offering a single point of contact for carers and those wishing to make a referral to the service.
Carers Rights who run regular Carers Forums for carers to highlight issues and concerns and feed them into local and national decision making.
Disability Cornwall who produce a regular magazine, ‘Carers News’ for carers, and also provide a continuing support service for carers.  Continuing support is for those carers whose caring role has come to an end and need support to adjust into a non-caring role.
Cornwall Rural Community Council leads a team of dedicated Carers Support Workers who provide one to one support including leads in; autism, young adult carers, dementia, mental health and BME.

CCS is working with the Health and Social Care community teams to improve services for carers in South Central Cornwall, as well as working with GP surgeries and other organisations across the county. If anyone wishes to refer to the service or contact them, they can use the helpline 01872 266383, or the online referral facility on their website, which also has lots of other useful information; www.cornwallcarers.org.uk.