TEIGNBRIDGE CARERS BREAK

This service was established in 1997 with grant aid from Devon County Council to provide a respite service for Carers in the Teignbridge area. It is a 24 hour service; we offer day and night cover, enabling short breaks of 1 or 2 hours, or longer as required. We supply a care worker to look after the Cared-for person in their own home, or escort the Cared-for person out of the home for a social activity, enabling the Carer to have a break. We are registered with the Care Quality Commission (CQC) to provide personal care and our staff are fully trained for the various tasks that they might undertake.

For our Statement of Purpose, which gives full details of our service and information for clients, please click here. It is a Word document and will open in a new window.

There is also a county-wide subsidised scheme for day hours, see below, whereby registered carers can access 36 hours per quarter of breaks, using vouchers issued by Westbank Exminster. Each voucher can be used to purchase an hour-long break from local providers such as ourselves, with the charge to the Carer for this service being only £3 per hour regardless of financial circumstances. Any additional hours, or nights, that we provide are charged at our standard rates.

Our standard rates have remained unchanged since April 2009, and are:

£13 per day hour and £61 per sleeping night in attendance (9 hours, usually from 10pm until 7am). Please note that we charge 1½ times the standard rate for sits on Bank & Public Holidays.

Our service can be accessed by telephoning the Co-ordinators on 01626 889288.

The office is manned Monday-Friday 9am-5pm although there may be times when staff are out of the office on visits, in which case please leave your name and number on our answerphone. The Co-ordinator will arrange an appointment to visit you and discuss in confidence the needs of both Carer and Cared-for.

The Voucher Scheme

We are a registered provider for the county-wide subsidised scheme called "Take a Break Scheme for Carers of Adults". The scheme is available to all carers who look after anyone with a physical or sensory disability over the age of 18 years. Young carers can access the scheme if they are looking after an eligible adult. To access the scheme you must be a member of your local 'Carers Link'. For information about the Teignbridge group click Teignbridge Carers Link. It will open in a new window.

The Voucher Scheme is open access, which means carers do not have to go through any Health or Adult and Community Services (Social Services) assessments to be able to use the scheme. Carers are eligible for 36 hours of respite per quarter which can be saved and used in blocks of up to 12 hours at any one time. The charge to the carer is a standard rate of £3 per hour with no requirement of a financial assessment. The scheme uses vouchers and every voucher is worth one hour of breaks.

To register for the scheme, carers must call 01392 823315. This is Westbank Exminster, who are under contract to co-ordinate the scheme. Westbank will take basic details to enable an appropriate break to be arranged. The carer will then be sent details of any suitable local providers, such as ourselves. Once accepted onto the scheme the carer will be sent the appropriate number of vouchers (36 vouchers for each full quarter of the year).

Page updated May 2011