At Ceredigion County Council we are transforming the way individuals, families, communities and carers can receive help and support when they need it. Our vision is to ensure positive access to both universal and targeted services so that children and adults can develop the skills and resilience they need to lead fulfilled lives and achieve their goals. We are seeking to empower individuals in what matters to them and work with partner agencies to strengthen people’s independence, ensure safety and promote well-being.

Our Through Age and Well-being Strategy sets out how we will develop a skilled and innovative workforce who will provide through age services that focus on preventative support and early intervention with easy access to information, advice and assistance, proportionate assessment of need and care and support plans for those who need longer term help.

Find out more about our Through-Age and Wellbeing Model and how are teams are structured within it here.

Targeted & Short Term Services Team Overview

Targeted & Short Term Services comprises of:

• Targeted Care and Enablement Service, providing regulated care services,
• The Direct Payments Support Service, providing support and guidance to individuals who choose to receive a direct payment and use the funds to become employers of Personal Assistants, or commission care services that fit their defined outcomes and preferred lifestyle choices
• The Centre for Independent Living (CILC) Logistics and Operations, including the Integrated Community Equipment Service, PPE Hub and Technology Enabled Care & Sensory Services.

These bring together a range of health, social care and other community services that focus on intervening early to keep people well and independent by delivering the right care at home or in the community, the range of equipment provision and the use of assistive technology, and service options that include rehabilitation, re-ablement, direct payments, and an enhanced domiciliary care provision.

Targeted Care & Enablement Service

The Targeted Care & Enablement Service offers a comprehensive range of personal and practical enablement care services for adults within the county of Ceredigion, to enable them to continue living in the community, in accordance with their own lifestyle, and with independence, dignity, safety and respect. 

Our aim is to help people to remain at home and be as independent and active as possible, prevent unnecessary admission to hospital, support timely discharge from hospital, and prevent unnecessary admission to care homes and assist people to return to their home from residential care. The key objective is to enhance the quality of life and relieve the stresses experienced by individuals who have reduced independence in their own home as a result of a disability, illness or age and offering an enabling service through the provision of registered and qualified social care staff to maximise independence, promoting the “doing with” not “doing for” ethos.

The service operates throughout the county on a community network locality patch basis. We provide:

• The Enablement short term provision
• The bridging service for those packages of long term care support held within the service whilst sourcing commissioned long term care support
• The bridging service for D2RA referrals to return home from hospital
• The day to day liaison with our commissioned domiciliary care providers supporting long term care for individuals in their own home

We have a team of Care & Support Workers who specialise in enablement support for up to six weeks to assist in regaining skills and independence in daily activities, or using equipment to aid bathing, dressing and undressing, mobility and transfers, kitchen skills, support/encouragement, or exercise programmes for rehabilitation and development under the instruction of a Physiotherapist or Occupational Therapist.

This is achieved through a short-term intensive intervention after an episode of ill health or an accident. They also provide domiciliary care for those who need extra help with personal care or household tasks in order to stay in the comfort of their own home. Our Health & Social Care Workers who also undertake additional devolved health tasks such as daily observations when supporting individuals with enablement support to monitor signs of potential ill health or recovery from illness.

From time to time our staff may be asked to undertake some tasks, which may be considered to be specialist. These tasks may be undertaken following appropriate risk assessments and only after specific training. All staff undergo rigorous training:

• All Wales Induction Framework
• QCF Level 2,3,4 & 5 (Diploma) in specific Health and Social Care
• Registration with Social Care Wales
• All Wales Manual Handling Passport
• Trusted Assessor Level 2,3
• Administration of Medication
• Health and Safety
• Infection, Prevention and Control
• A range of specific training relating to the needs of the service users

Direct Payments Support Service

The Direct Payments Support Service provides support and guidance to individuals who choose to receive a direct payment and use the funds to become employers of Personal Assistants, or commission care services that fit their defined outcomes and preferred lifestyle choices.

The service supports people in all service groups across Ceredigion, providing information and guidance to adults and parents of children and young people with identified care needs, this may include any representatives, unpaid carers and professionals involved in supporting the person who would like to receive a Direct Payment for the purposes of meeting their assessed care and support needs. 

The Support Officers facilitate a community based service that engages and encourages individuals, providing skilled and specialist knowledge to deliver information and support to empower people who have chosen a Direct Payment to take control of their care and support needs.  This includes managing complex cases, working alongside social care officers, audit, finance and corporate functions, and external companies and voluntary organisations.

The team provide specialist support and information:

• Direct Payment Services Framework
  • Recruitment and Employment Support Service
  • Payroll Services
  • Information, Advice, Support Planning
  • Managed Direct Payment Accounts
• Direct Payment Personal Assistant Hub & Recruitment Portal
  • PA Engagement, Support and Wellbeing
  • PA Training and Workforce DP Training engagement
  • PA Market development
  • Community engagement

The Direct Payments Support Service team receive specialist training in

• Direct Payments legislation and regulations
• Employment and disability benefits, tax, pensions, insurance
• Health and Safety
• A range of specific training relating to the needs of the service users
• NVQ Level 2 Business Administration
• QCF/NVQ level 4 Information Advice and Assistance

CILC Logistics & Operations

The Centre for Independent Living (CILC) Logistics & Operations coordinate and manage a range of support services to keep people safer and more independent.  Helping to reduce the risk of hospital admissions and falls, facilitate the transfer of care from hospital back to the community, support intermediate care and enablement programmes and long term condition management in a way that promotes independence for through age, health and social care, residential, nursing and community settings. The service covers all Ceredigion, through age, health and social care residential, nursing and community settings. 

Our team provide a vital part of the supply chain process, receive, organise and distribute goods from the warehouse, ensure the CILC facilities are maintained, safe and secure and provide a well-functioning work environment for the Porth Gofal Hub. We provide a public face for the equipment service for service users and care providers, professionals, and suppliers. There are a range of services supported through CILC:

• The Integrated Community Equipment Service (ICES) promotes independent living, in partnership with Hywel Dda University Health Board. Our community equipment ranges from simple walking frames and crutches to more complex equipment such as beds, hoists and pressure care equipment.  The delivery, installation and collection of community equipment within people’s homes and locations such as care homes, hospitals and schools, and supports the servicing and repair of equipment, decontamination cleaning and recycling
• The Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) Hub provides an effective ordering and delivery portal across the local authority, to clinically vulnerable service users and partners, and includes the provision of Lateral Flow Devises (LFD) supply chain
• The logistics and distribution provide a coordinated support for allied services i.e. Technology Enabled Care and Sensory Services, Direct Payments Support Service and the Targeted Care & Enablement Services.
• New public access Smart Hubs/Virtual Assist to be based within in other council facilities to provide access to information relating to TEC/assistive technology (aids to daily living, alarms, sensors, wearable devises), consumer technology (smartphones, tablets, smart watches, smart speakers/virtual assistants, and virtual reality applications) and digital care applications.
• The facilities management of the Ceredigion Independent Living Centre building and hot desking office space.

The Team supports a specialised diverse range of targeted and short term services requiring a level of technical knowledge. Our team are also trained in:

• All Wales Manual Handling Passport
• Trusted Assessor Level 2,3
• Health and Safety/IOSH
• Infection, Prevention and Control
• First Aider in the workplace training
• QCF Level 4 Information Advice and Assistance
• Warehouse operations, logistics  & distribution, facilities management