Carers Support

The Carers (Scotland) Act

The welcome introduction of The Carers (Scotland) Act and new responsibilities in respect of the preparation of Adult Carer Support Plans, and Young Carer Statements has been developed and implemented locally in partnership with Carers Link, Education services, Adult and Children’s Social Work services and local carer groups and voluntary sector.

Carers support includes a range of services, including overnight stays and respite care to make sure that disabled people receive a service which is designed to best meet all their needs for health, housing and social care.  It can be provided in your own home, the cared for person’s home or elsewhere and may extend from a couple of hours to a couple of weeks.  

Short breaks or respite care should be a good experience for you and the person you care for.  If you spend a lot of time caring for your partner, relative or friend you may need a break from doing this in order to improve your quality of life, support you in your relationship and help you to continue in your caring role.

We can provide a range of supports to enable the person you care for to be well looked after and to give you some time to enjoy a break from your caring role.  Alternatively you may wish to consider using the Self-Directed Support options to have more choice and control over how the short break/respite care will be delivered.

Short breaks or respite care can be arranged to take place in a variety of settings and in a range of different ways:

  • In your own home
  • In the cared for person’s own home
  • Holiday breaks
  • Breaks together for you and the person you care for
  • Specialist Guest Houses
  • Breaks in the home of others i.e. a family member
  • Care homes

We would need to speak to you and the person you care for to assess what we think you need, discuss the best way of providing this support and how you could use the self-directed support options.  The person you care for would need to agree to accept the support also.

We would also apply the Council’s Charging Policy updated by the Addendum for 2014/15 charges which can be viewed in the attached documents.

If you live on your own

If you live independently but need support to help you to live at home because of your age or disability, we can help you to access a holiday or short break.  This help may consist of making a contribution towards the support you require when you are on holiday, providing you with advice and information to help you choose the right place to go or assisting you to make practical or transport arrangements.

Who do I contact?

If you already have a Social Worker or Care Manager you should contact them. Otherwise please contact us through Customer Services

COVID-19 - Are you an unpaid / informal carer?

Any unpaid/informal carer requiring to access an emergency supply of Personal Protection Equipment (PPE) to support them to carry out personal care activities with the person they care for should contact Carers Link on 0800 8752131.

A referral from Carers Link to the PPE Hub can provide an unpaid carer with one week's emergency supply until they are able to source the PPE from their usual local or on-line stockists.

Carers Link is open Monday to Friday from 8.30am to 5.00pm.

They also have an email address that is monitored seven days: enquiry@carerslink.org.uk