Bury Council Carers’ Personal Budgets
The Council should have been in touch with all ‘service users’ who are affected by changes in the old Carers’ Break Vouchers scheme. The new scheme, entitled Carers’ Personal Budgets, is designed to give you more control over your support plans. From mid April those of you who are affected will be receiving a cheque from the Council to cover their assessment of your Personal Budget for the first 3 or 6 months of the financial year. You will use this money to pay for approved services or products that are detailed in the information you have received from the Council.
The Scheme has established Bands for the funds. These are the MAXIMUM amounts that those affected will receive for the whole year and range from a maximum of £200 for carers in the “Moderate Level” as assessed by the Council’s Social Care Officers, up to a Maximum of £1,300 for carers assessed to be in the “Critical Level”.
At Bluebird Care we are happy to assist any of our customers in dealing with the impact of the new scheme. Once you have received your confirmed payments from the Council we will work with you to maximise the benefit you can get from the new scheme and agree the amount of care that we can provide. We will also explain our billing arrangements to you under the scheme.
Please do not hesitate to call Terry or Theresa on 0161 763 0325 if you need any help.
Customer Forum
The Bluebird Care Bury Customer Forum will take place on Thursday 26th May at a venue in the town between 10:00 a.m. and 2:00 pm. We have decided to hold the event away from Warth Business Centre to enable more people to attend.
We will be sending out more details before Easter and if you would like an invitation please let us know.
Carers’ Week – June 13th to 19th
This year the organisers of Carers’ Week (www.carersweek.org) are asking carers to tell them about the reality of caring in the UK in 2011. They want to know how easy or hard the life of a carer is and what are the biggest surprises that you encounter when you become a carer.
To find out more about Carers Week, and how to take part, please visit their website or e-mail info@carersweek.org or call the hotline on 0845 241 2582.
My Sensablility
Based in Bury, this is Greater Manchester’s first multi-sensory venue offering an interactive room to calm or stimulate the senses. Combining state of the art technology and interactive facilities to create a unique environment for relaxation, stimulation, learning and development, this exciting facility is suitable for all ages and abilities.
For more details please go to their website (www.mysensability.co.uk) or contact them on 0161 637 0069 or e-mail info@mysensability.co.uk.
Mind Week is fast approaching
The annual Mind week campaign takes place in mid-May and this year the organisers be using the week to launch the second phase of their employment and mental health campaign, Taking Care of Business (http://www.mind.org.uk/employment).
The campaign aims to improve working life for people experiencing stress and mental health issues within their jobs. We’re particularly focussing on making sure that staff can talk about stress and mental health at work, without fear of discrimination. They want to show that real people's experiences are at the heart of the campaign, to make sure the call to end discrimination on mental health issues in the workplace is heard across national and local media.
New appointment
We are pleased to announce that Joanne Garnett, who joined us exactly 12 months ago, has been appointed as a Senior Care worker with immediate effect.
Awards for Staff
We are continually reminded that the quality of our staff is central to the excellent standard of support provided by Bluebird Care Bury and every month the winner of our Care Worker of the month award has delivered quality service to her customers. The March winner was Liz Bateman who has received excellent testimonials from customers and her colleagues. And the winner of the award for the first quarter of 2011 was Neil Gilbert who was rewarded for his willingness to support colleagues at all times.
And finally our usual request
Do you know anyone who is not satisfied with their current home care provider or might be thinking that some help in their daily life would be useful, please put them in touch with us. There is no obligation on them; just an opportunity to meet Theresa, Joanne or Sylvia to discuss their needs and how Bluebird Care Bury can help. If you want a leaflet to give to them please ask your care worker or get them to call the office on 0161 210 3746 and we will make sure they get a warm reception.
For more information about Bluebird Care please visit the feature here
