Do you care for or look after someone with a disability or special need? These pages give you information about caring and carers organisations and links to services who may be able to help you.
A carer is someone who looks after a relative or friend who needs support because of age, physical or learning disability or illness, including mental illness. This includes parents of children with disabilities.
A young carer is a child or a young person under the age of 18 who take on the responsibility for caring for someone. This is often a parent but can be a brother or sister, grandparent or other relative who needs support.
Often carers do not identify themselves as such and cope with a restrictive and isolated life. Carers are people of all ages and from any community.
There are nearly 5.7 million carers in Great Britain and it is estimated between 20,000 and 50,000 young carers.
The word carer does not mean care-worker or care staff of any kind who are paid to provide care as part of a contract of employment.
You may be a carer but don’t think of yourself as one. Do you look after an elderly relative or spouse, have a child with disabilities or look after someone with disabilities? You may be a carer! If you are, the new Disabled Childrens and Carers Act gives you new rights.
Information on the Government's definition of a carer.
There are a number of ways you can get help. Information, respite care breaks, home support, advice, equipment, day care services, health advice, general social support. You (and the person you care for) may also be able to get financial help from the government through income support and a range of benefits. You may be entitled to a carers assessment which will help you to talk about what you need and what is available. You may also be able to get in touch with a voluntary group which shares your problems and may be able to offer specialist advice and support.
Below you will find more information, with useful website links to organisations who may be able to help, as well as leaflet that you can download to view for carers.
Social services may be able to assess your needs (as well as the needs of the person you care for) through a carers assessment. The NHS may also be able to help you and the person you look after.
Slough has a growing Carers Forum and a Slough Carers Partnership Board (with carers represented on it) to continue to develop the carers' strategy. If you would like to meet people like yourself who also care or want to be involved in developing services in Slough or would like more information please contact Slough Carers Support telephone number: 01753 635520.
Slough Borough Council, Slough Primary Care Trust and partner agencies are committed to improving services for carers. The Carers Strategy was developed by the carers development manager and social services. It is Slough's plan for improving services to carers. It says how we will spend the carers grant and how we will develop more breaks for carers.
Below, you can download and view the Joint Commissioning Strategy for Slough.
For all enquiries please contact the Customer Service Centre
01753 475111
01753 875030
MyCouncil
Landmark Place
High Street, Slough
opposite Slough Library
MyCouncil opening times.
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