Carers’ Break Service is registered with the Care Quality Commission to provide specialist domiciliary care to people living at home who may have varying health and social care needs. 

We provide care and support to people from 2hrs upwards including nights. Staff are highly trained and experienced and work to extremely high standards to ensure that each person receives excellent care and support to meet their indivual needs.

Our service can be used on a regular or ad-hoc basis. We provide the same staff member to you so as to provide continuity - many people have commented on our service that they especially like this as they get to know the saff member well and know who will be coming. We also match the staff member to meet your individual requirements.

Our care staff provide personal care, support and supervision whilst ensuring dignity and choice at all times. They can assist you with various tasks that could include, preparing and assisting with meals, supervision of dependant person, taking you out to pursue an activity or to attend an appointment, enabling a carer to have valuable respite from their main caring role either during the day or overnight, for example.

A detailed Support Plan will be completed by a Co-ordinator which will include valuable imput from you about your choices, values and beliefs. Maximum independence is promoted at all times by the service within the parameters of your detailed Support Plan and Risk Assessment.

Staff receive regular support and are trained to a minimum NVQ Level 3 in Palliative Care and/or Health and Social Care. All staff go through a vigorous recruitment procedure and are subject to a Criminal Records Check prior to starting work and this is renewed regularly throughout their employment with us.

 

History of the Carers' Break Service.

In 1986, three year government funding was secured by a voluntary organisation for a night sitting service in the Kerrier District in Cornwall. The service provided care for dependent people living at home to enable their carers to have a good night’s sleep. At the end of the funding period ongoing funding had not been secured but another voluntary organisation, Council for Community Services (Kerrier) agreed to provide a small amount of funding for administration to enable the Co-ordinator (who had agreed to work on a volunteer basis) to continue to run the service and apply for funding. From 1990 to 1992 funding was secured from various bodies, which included the Duchy Health Charity, the Alzheimers Society and the Mental Health Unit of the Health Authority, which enabled the service to continue in Kerrier and to expand into the Penwith District. The service had also been extended to provide care during the day due to demand.

With the introduction in 1993 of the Community Care Act 1990, an application was made to Cornwall Social Services to provide funding for the project since in the Act carers were recognised as a valuable part of the provision of care to dependent people. Funding was agreed if the service was developed to cover the whole of Cornwall. The trustees agreed to this request and in September 1993 the first two part time Area Co-ordinators were appointed to develop the service in the Carrick and Restormel Districts. In February 1994 two more Area Co-ordinators were appointed for the North Cornwall and Caradon Districts and in June 1994 the countywide service was launched. Since the charity was now providing a countywide service it was agreed that the name of the charity should be changed to Cornwall Community Volunteer Services which it is still known as today.

From 1994 to the present time the service has developed and adjusted to changing needs, legislation etc and has taken referrals from the statutory and voluntary sectors and private individuals. By 1999 over 80,000 hours of care were being delivered annually to provide respite for carers. In 2001, due to local policy, the grant from Cornwall Social Services was withdrawn and services were commissioned on a “spot purchasing” basis. The volume of core work has reduced since that time but in 2004 a contract was agreed with Cornwall Social Services to rota four members of staff every night to provide a night care resource to the Rapid Assessment Teams (RATs) who work as a multi disciplinary team preventing hospital admission or enabling an earlier hospital discharge with a “round the clock” package of care until the service user has improved. This has involved training and supporting dedicated staff to provide a high level of care and a close working partnership with the statutory agencies commissioning the service. In 2008 this service was increased to include 6 staff members per night to also cover the Directorate of Adult Care and Support Out of Hours Service and Cornwall and Isles of Scilly Foundation Trust to provide a night service for people who have chosen to come home from hospital and are in need of End of Life Care. This is important to the ethos of Carers' Break - that pople have the right to choose where they receive their care.