Woking Home Support Service
Started in March 1999, the Woking Home Support Service provides emotional support and practical help to enable older people to remain living independently in their own homes. Funded by Friends of the Elderly with part funding by a Woking Primary Care trust and a grant from the W H Cobb Trust, the service covers the Woking Borough area and is available on weekdays from 9.00am to 5.00pm.
The wishes of the client always have priority. Emotional support is constant and takes precedence over non-essential tasks.
“I would like to thank you personally for your input into Miss S’s life. She was one of the most vulnerable and at risk older persons that I have dealt with, refusing all offers of support and assistance. You provided the perfect service displaying dedication and common sense.
This shows how dependent we are on Friends of the Elderly where our input alone is not able to resolve matters and is an ideal example of how the statutory and voluntary sectors need to work closely together.”
Letter from a Woking Social Worker
The Home Support Service in Woking also gives clients access to an advocacy project. The advocacy service is provided through the partnership of the Woking Home Support Service, Advocacy in Action and Alzheimer’s Society – Woking Branch.
The service has a priority for people with mild to moderate dementia (diagnosed or suspected) and those who have depression. Although clients must be 60 years and over, there is no age restriction for people with dementia. The service is not appropriate for those whose only needs are cleaning and need no other support.
It is the aim of the Woking Home Support Service to provide continuity by retaining motivated staff who build a caring relationship with their client. All staff take part in regularly updated training programmes in which dementia figures strongly.
To ensure that we only help those who are most in need, the services take referrals from professional agencies only. These include Community Psychiatric Nurses, Specialist Workers for Older People and local branches of the Alzheimer’s Society.
For more information please telephone the Woking Home Support Service Manager on 01483 757 751or email manager@whss.fote.org.uk