Princess Royal Trust for Carers Network of centres

The Carers Centre
Quarterly magazine
Summer edition

Small Community Services Project

Background

In Oldham, in Control has been introduced as a new way for people who use Adult and Community Services to have greater control in how they will be cared and supported. Individuals are allocated money according to their needs (called an individualised or personal budget) which can then be used to pay for services that will keep them healthy safe and well- this can be from OMBC or  independent services or by employing a personal assistant to support them on a one to one basis.

The range of traditional services have decreased, so the Department of Health has funded a small UK charity 'NAAPS' to try and increase the range of other independent services in Oldham. NAAPS believe that given the power to choose, individuals will want services that are small, flexible and able to respond to the ways people want to live their lives.

What is a Small Community Service?

For the purpose of the project a small service is one that has 5 or fewer paid or unpaid workers, and is totally independent of a larger organisation. Past experience has shown that it is not easy for small providers to get off the ground, with regulations and standards difficult to get to grips with, as well as getting the right people to know that they exist. 

They now have the opportunity to become members of Oldham's Small Community Services Association. My role as the Small Community Services Co-ordinator is to support, advise and signpost providers, to ensure that their services are operating in a way that individuals and their families would expect.

As a minimum standard, CRB checks and public liability insurance documents are checked of members of the Association. In addition, a number of individuals who use their service will be contacted directly, by me, for feedback about the quality of the service.

However, the fact that they are members of the Association does not mean that they are accredited in any way-the quality of the service should be judged by individuals, family members and workers.

 Keeping you informed

In order to let you know what small services are available  please see the list of vacancies  contact directly for further information and costs of services provided. 

 I have included emerging services in order that people are aware of what is on the horizon-if you think the service may be something that you would be interested in, please contact the provider anyway. In the near future, a web based service called SHOP4SUPPORT will advertise services in order to better inform people what is available- until then I will update the list each month.

 Types of services  

There is a real mix of services available as everyone will have different needs and wants, including both support, leisure and housing.

Do let me know if you are interested in a particular activity that is not currently available- I may have had an enquiry from a provider who would deliver a service, if people wanted it. 

The list of Vacancies  will hopefully provide you with a small range of services that may just help you live the life that you want, in the local community .If you require any further information about the project please contact me on:

For more information on NAAPs, visit www.naaps.org.uk

Many thanks