For Professionals
Click here for news items of interest to professionals
About Renfrewshire Carers Centre
Referral to Carers Centre Services
Services that Renfrewshire Carers Centre Provides
Information that Renfrewshire Carers Centre Provides
This webpage is specifically for health and social care professionals who are working with carers in Renfrewshire. We are keen to develop links with professionals to help raise awareness of the help on offer to carers from the Carers Centre and elsewhere.
About Renfrewshire Carers Centre
Based at 16 Silk Street in Paisley, the Carers Centre is part of the UK wide Princess Royal Trust for Carers. We are a voluntary organisation run by an independent Board and we are funded via Renfrewshire Council, Renfrewshire Community Health Partnership and via other sources, such as Cash for Kids, the Laidlaw Trust, the Moffat Centre and through our own fundraising.
The Centre currently employs 12 members of staff and also employs 20 sessional workers and has 70 volunteers.
We exist to support unpaid carers and for funding reasons, the carer must live in Renfrewshire to be eligible for our help.
Referral to Carers Centre Services
Health and social care professionals can refer carers into our services. Referal can be made by phone or by email. When a professional phones up to make a referal for an adult carer we will ask for specific information about the carer, their name, address, contact details, GP details, their own health and social care needs, as well as details about the cared for person.
Generally, there are waiting lists for the services that we provide, which are free of charge.
Referals are commonly followed up with a home visit, especially where young carers are involved or where respite/befriending or specfic support has been requested by the carer.
Due to workload, we are planning to make an online version of our referral form available in the near future, so that professionals can fill the form in and send it back to us, which will reduce waiting times for carers in receiving our services.
The Carers Centre Telephone Number is 0141 887 3643
Services that Renfrewshire Carers Centre Provides
Services we provide are all explained in greater detail in the advice and services part of the website.
- Carer Sitting Service - we provide around 2 hours of respite a week to carers, using a small team of qualified support workers. Click here to find out more about the sitting service
Contact: Maureen Hunter maureenh@renfrewshirecarers.co.uk
- Befriending Service - we provide companionship to carers or cared for through a team of trained volunteer befrienders to help reduce stress and isolation. Click here to find out more about the befriending service
Contact Marie@renfrewshirecarers.co.uk or katie@renfrewshirecarers.co.uk
- Support Groups - are provided for a range of carer groups and these are held on a monthly basis. Groups provide much needed peer-group support for carers, who can use the fora to discuss their experiences and gain emotional support and re-assurance. They can also obtain expert help here. Click here to find out more details about our support groups.
- Young Carers - we provide a programme of group activities for children and young people under the age of 18. Activities are organised by age group where the young people can be supported and given opportunites to have a break from their responsibilities. Click here to find out more about the Young Carer project.
Contact: Pauline Kelly pauline@renfrewshirecarers.co.uk
- Advocacy Services - we provide support to carers to enable them to get their rights and to give them a voice. Advocates take carer complaints (e.g. housing issues, problems with school and issues with home care services) forward to the relevant agencies to redress them. Click here to find out more about advocacy services
Contact: Maureen Fisher maureenf@renfrewshirecarers.co.uk
- Relaxation Services - we provide relaxation and stress management training, delivered by trained professionals. Click here to find out more about relaxation services
Contact: Tracy Wallace enquiries@renfrewshirecarers.co.uk
- Advice - we provide advice on things like welfare benefits, filling in carers self assessment forms, advice on where to access specialist equipment and services, holidays, direct payments, power of attorney. Click here to find out more about advice services
Contact: Christine Melville christine@renfrewshirecarers.co.uk
Information that Renfrewshire Carers Centre Provides
We have a wide range of information available at the Centre on issues relevant to carers, in paper and in online directories.
- We also have have an information library on medical conditions and services to carers. We also produce a newsletter 4 times a year which provides information on local carer issues, events and policies. Click here to see the latest edition!
- Additionally, we are producing specialised information on areas such as respite, which will be posted on this webpage when they are completed.
Contact: Amy Anderson amy@renfrewshirecarers.co.uk
Click here to find out more about information available
News items of interest to professionals
New Health Information Supplement for Youth Workers
Youth Scotland, in partnership with NHS Scotland has published a health information supplement specifically for Youth Workers. It aims to provide Youth Workers with the latest news, sources of information and signposts for key websites, current health initiatives and resources. Click here to visit the site
Self Management and Rehabiliation Website
NHS Education for Scotland has designed a Self Management and Rehabilitation Website to enable service users, carers and health and social care professionals to access information abuot adult rehabilitation and the management of long term conditions. The website provides high quality information and has been designed to help professionals restore autonomy to users and their carers. Log onto www.enablinghealth.scot.nhs.uk
Other sources of Information for Professionals
The Princess Royal Trust for Carers (PRTC) has launched the first dedicated website to help experts support unpaid family carers. The website gives all professionals who work with unpaid young and adult carers access to the latest information, news and resources. The site is aimed at employees in the health, education and social care sectors. Carole Cochrane of the PRTC said "we are confident this website will give professionals access to the latest information and thus be instrumental in making a difference to the lives of carers". The site has been funded by Legal & General and can be found at www.carers/org/professionals.
