People who can help

A short guide to professionals and organisations

When you care for someone you come across a lot of professionals from different places. Although it can be daunting at first, it helps to have an understanding of the role of each professional and how they can support you and the person you care for.

Advocacy Caseworker – Supports you to speak up and express your views and opinions. This could include contacting agencies by phone or letter, supporting at meetings and explaining information to you. Highland Carers Advocacy provides advocacy to Carers.

Care Home – All residential and nursing homes are now referred to as care homes and details of local establishments can be provided by Connecting Carers.

Carer Link Worker – Connecting Carers have Carer Link Workers across Highland to make connections with Carers and discuss the support they need. We use a Carer’s Support Plan, which focuses on Carers setting their own priorities. Carer Liaison Workers can also provide information, signposting and funding.

Community Psychiatric Nurse (CPN) – When someone in the family has a mental health condition (e.g. depression or schizophrenia) or dementia, CPNs can offer support to the individual with the condition and to their family. CPNs can often form part of someone’s discharge plan following a hospital stay, and can visit people in their own home.

Continence Nurse/Advisor – Provide information and advice about managing bowel and bladder problems. In the first instance, speak to the practice nurse at your health centre for advice.

Community Nurse – Visit people in their own homes and offer help and advice on the practical and medical aspects of caring, such as physical care, medication and dressings.

Dementia Link Worker – Allocated to people who have a diagnosis of dementia, they offer support and signposting for the first year after diagnosis. The benefit is that you will then be linked with all the relevant services and information going forward.

General Practitioner – Well placed to identify Carers and alert them to sources of help and advice.

Health Visitor – Based within the community, they visit mums and babies in their own homes (up to the age of five).

Homecare Worker (sometimes referred to as Carers) – Come into the home for a few hours each week to help with tasks such as cooking, feeding, bathing, shopping, dressing and collecting pensions or prescriptions. Homecare can be provided by the NHS or through voluntary sector and independent providers.

Mental Health Officer (MHO) – Social Workers with special experience and training in the area of mental health conditions and mental health law. They carry out duties under the Mental Health Care & Treatment (Scotland) Act 2003. MHOs may be involved in assessments concerning a person’s need to be admitted to hospital for treatment, or to be the subject of a guardianship order. They may also be involved in offering support and advice to individuals and families in matters of mental health and mental impairment and can provide details of resources in the local community.

Named Person – Nominated by a person experiencing a mental health condition. Named Person is also the name given to the professional who has responsibility for children as they grow.

Occupational Therapist (OT) – Works with the Health & Social Care teams and aims to enable individuals with long-term and/or complex needs to live a full and independent life within the limits of their physical and social circumstances. Provides advice and support relating to illness or disability, advice on housing or major adaptions, provision of small pieces of equipment and minor adaptations, referral to other services and rehabilitation in activities of daily living such as washing, dressing and meal preparation.

Physiotherapist – Works with people to help them regain lost movement, improve mobility, and maintain safe independence in activities such as using the stairs.

Practice Nurse – Provides care such as injections and dressings in the GP surgery or health centre. They also operate chronic disease clinics.

Pre-school Teaching Service staff – Offer home teaching for pre-school children with special needs.

Service Provider – An organisation that provides a service to people with disabilities (sometimes referred to as Service Users).

Social Worker – Advises on all sorts of personal and practical issues. They arrange services such as respite care, sitter services or a day centre place for the person you care for. Social Workers can be contacted directly: call NHS Highland for adult services on 01463 704000 or The Highland Council for children’s services on 01463 702000.

Speech & Language Therapist – Works with adults and children, offering information and advice on communication, speech, etc and/or eating, drinking and swallowing difficulties.

Support Worker – Assists people with disabilities or mental ill health to get out and about while maintaining their independence. Assists with shopping, going for a walk or a coffee, or getting to an appointment, when a person is isolated or needs supervision to maximise their potential.

Office of the Public Guardian (OPG) – Responsible for administering and regulating the Adults with Incapacity (Scotland) Act 2000 which deals with Powers of Attorney and Guardianship.

Voluntary sector/third sector – The wide range of services provided by voluntary and charitable organisations. Some of the health and social care services available within the community are provided by the voluntary/third sector, such as

• Information and advice support groups
• Sitter and respite services
• Day care
• Lunch clubs
• Advocacy
• Training for Carers

Specialist condition-specific support – Some of these services are free, others are not.