Looking After Older People

Carers Support Services

The Carers Support Service provides practical and emotional support to Carers of older people. Carers may be referred to the service directly or may be offered support if the person they are caring for is referred to Age Concern Wirral’s Services. Support is mainly but not exclusively provided to persons caring for older people suffering from dementia and is provided by way of home visits, interviews at the Devonshire Resource Centre, regular newsletters and telephone calls, practical training sessions, plus a Carers Club offering opportunities for socialising and mutual support.

Home Support Service

Care and support is provided by trained staff to older people, mainly but not exclusively those suffering from dementia, within their own homes, in order to allow their Carers to take a break from their responsibilities. The service is available from 8 a.m. to 10p.m. seven days a week. This flexible service provides care, help with practical tasks, companionship and supervision.

Phone Link

Phone link offers a regular friendly telephone call to older people who live alone and are socially isolated or in need of support at a time of particular vulnerability e.g. following illness. The Community Services Manager visits each client on referrals to assess suitability and match them to a volunteer ‘befriender’. Volunteer will telephone at a pre-arranged time that suits the older person, to make sure that all is well and to provide an opportunity for a friendly chat. The service is free of charge, is available from Monday to Friday and may be provided on a short or long term basis.

Day Care

32 places of day care are offered each day, from Monday to Friday, at the Devonshire Resource Centre, Park Road North, Birkenhead, for older people from across the Borough suffering from Alzheimer’s Disease and various forms of dementia. Staff within the Day Centre are well trained and qualified to undertake the effective and appropriate care of older people with these conditions. Day Care Service users are also able to benefit from the full range of other services available within the Centre, including a Bathing Service, hairdressing and Chiropody. Transport to and from the Devonshire Resource Centre is available on request.

Information and Advice

The information and Advice Service provides up-to-date information and advice, free of charge, to older people, their friends, families and Carers on a whole range of issues, including:

Welfare, Benefits
Care Homes, Money
Transport
Local Services and Activities
Housing
Care Services
Welfare, Health
Education and Learning and much more

The Specialist Welfare Benefits Service offers independent advice and support to help you maximise your income. Over 50 fact sheets, covering a range of issues relating to later life, are available free of charge. The Service can be accessed using our telephone helpline, by emailing or writing to us, or by visiting our Headquarters in Market Street, the Mobile Resource Unit as it visits local shopping centres, or calling into one of our surgeries at some Council One Stop Shops. A home visiting service is provided for people who are housebound.

Advocacy Services

Advocacy helps older people express choices about matters affecting their everyday lives and so achieve a better quality of life. Advocacy enables people to say what they want; get the rights they are entitled to and obtain the services that they need.

The free and confidential Advocacy Service support older people to have their voice heard and their views recognised.

Involving Older People

Age Concern Wirral supports older people and their carers to have their say in matters which affect the quality of life for local older people and their carers in a number of different ways, including through facilitating Wirral Senior Citizens’ Forum. Contact us to find out more about getting involved.

The Handyperson Service

The Handyperson Service offers a helping hand with practical household repairs and maintenance. The Handyperson, who is a time-served tradesman, is reliable and honest, providing quality workmanship at an affordable cost.

The Handyperson helps with work such as:

Fitting grab rails, curtain rails, hand rails

Installing security products

Replacing washers, light bulbs and floorboards

Clearing overgrown pathways

Putting up shelves and cupboards

Policy and Campaigning

Age Concern Wirral campaigns on behalf of older people and their carers about the issues which matter to them at local, regional and national level. To tell us more about the issues which you would like us to become involved in, contact us on the number below.

Several campaigns, are run during the year, including the Your Rights Welfare Benefits Campaign, an Electric Blanket Testing Project and a Winter Warmth Project. Contact the information and Advice Service for more information.

For more information contact 0151 666 2220

Or visit us at Headquarters: 42/44 Market Street, Birkenhead, Wirral CH41 5BT

Wanderers of Wirral

Wanderers of Wirral is a travel club designed to give members up-to-date information about a variety of holiday deals available through our partners. With a range of destinations and flights from Liverpool and Manchester we are able to help you plan your trip, both at home and abroad. There is a small annual fee for membership to Wanderers of Wirral; in return, you will receive a quarterly newsletter and frequent updates of our latest offers.

Day Trips

A range of day trips are arranged all year round to visit various locations around the country. Contact the Active Age Centre for details of forthcoming trips.

For more information contact 0151 647 3537

Or visit us at:

The Active Age Centre,

Grange Baptist Church Hall,

Whetstone Lane, Birkenhead, Wirral CH41 2QS

activeagecentre@ageconcernwirral.org