If you have a hearing or vision impairment then Bath and North
East Somerset Council has a team who can offer advice, information
and assessment. They are called the Sensory Service Team
Who does the Sensory Service Team work with?
The Sensory Service Team is based at the Town Hall in Keynsham
and covers the whole of Bath & North East Somerset. As a team
we work with people who are visually impaired, have a combination
of sight and hearing loss or are deaf.
The focus of the team is to offer specialist assessments in
relation to how your sensory impairment may affect you in your day
to day living. This could be undertaking tasks in the home such as
making a cup of tea or involve issues when going out and about.
Who qualifies for an assessment and services?
Under the National Health Service & Community Care Act 1990
you are entitled to have an assessment of your needs. You do not
need to be registered with a visual impairment, or a combination of
visual or hearing impairment or a hearing loss.
Instead, if you feel these impairments are affecting you, you
are entitled to an assessment.
This assessment will identify your needs and these may be met by
social services if they meet our financial criteria and Fair Access
to Care Services (FACS) criteria.
With regards to our financial criteria social services each year
sets an upper limit on finances to determine who is supported.
With regards to FACS, this is a government initiative introduced
in 2003 to give councils a framework for deciding who will receive
adult services.
Within this, some needs may be identified that are eligible for
services and some that are not; social services will only meet the
needs that are eligible. If you do not meet our eligibility
criteria we try to direct you to alternative organisations offering
support.
How will an assessment help me?
The assessment will identify whether you may need help with
mobility, personal care, safety and summoning help issues, domestic
tasks, social contacts, learning, work and leisure activities,
finance or housing issues.
Also this assessment can identify whether you need time to talk
as we recognise there is an acceptable and natural reaction for
some people to feel frustrated or upset by their sight and or
hearing loss.
This can take the form of the assessor offering you that
immediate time, or joining a local support group such as the
Macular Degeneration group or having counselling services from the
RNIB.
Other needs may be met by a number of different services
including home care, day care, community meals, occupational
therapy or a specialist rehabilitation worker who can look at
mobility training and daily living and kitchen skills. Or
alternatively you may decide to have your needs met via a
direct payment or
individual budget and then arrange your services yourself. The
cost of services will depend upon the completion of a financial
assessment.
The assessment will also identify whether specialist equipment
would reduce the impact of your sensory impairment. Currently the
Sensory Services Team is able to provide some of this equipment
such as talking clocks, writing and reading templates, symbol and
guide canes, task lights and talking kitchen scales and
microwaves.
With regards to equipment we do not provide we are able to
direct you to appropriate organisations where you will generally be
able to view the equipment and may have it on loan before you
decide to purchase it.
Do you have a combination of sight and hearing loss?
If you have a combination of sight and hearing loss resulting in
difficulties in communication, mobility and accessing information,
you may be entitled to specialist support services to enable you to
live independently. These support services can be in the form of
one to one assistance from some-one called a guide communicator.
They can help you to participate in the local community and access
everyday services. This might include:
- Attending a support or social group
- Accompanying you on a journey or outing maybe for a meal/ drink
or to the theatre.
- Help you to take part in different sports or other leisure
activities.
- Assistance with correspondence and other reading.
Assessments and Services for deaf people
Additionally the Sensory Services Team also provides assessments
and services for deaf adults who generally use British Sign
Language and deaf children.
The Referral Process:
If you feel your visual impairment and/or hearing impairment is
affecting your life and would like support or information from this
team, you need to contact Adult Duty. This can involve you phoning
directly or asking someone to do it on your behalf. The telephone
number is 01225 477000 and you will need to ask for Adult Duty
Team.
We may also get to know about you from forms completed at the
Eye Clinic known as CVI or at the Opticians known as LV1. Once
these forms have been received by the Adult Duty Team they will
contact you to discuss whether you would like to receive support
from the Sensory Service Team or other teams if
appropriate.
This information can be made available in a range of
languages, large print, Braille, on tape, electronic and accessible
formats. Contact the Information Officer on 01225 477983,
Minicom 01225 477043 or email information_officer@bathnes.gov.uk