Working in partnership with local authorities Bield Flexicare services currently operate in:

• Fife – Leven, Dunfermline and Glenrothes
• Glasgow – East, North and West of the City
• North Lanarkshire.- Chryston area

The term flexicare reflects the flexible nature of the service. It is designed to meet the needs of older people with dementia living in the local community. The service offers support both to the older person and their carers.

Flexicare is unique in that it ‘enables’ individuals to continue normal day to day living. It is entirely needs led with support being provided at a time and place that will give maximum benefit to the service user and / or their carer.
The service operates 7 days a week. Support can be anything from 30 minutes per week to daily assistance. The programme is developed to suit an individuals needs.

The aims of Flexicare are to:

• Work closely with service users, their families and other main carers to develop a support package tailored to individual need
• Develop flexible packages of care to enable people with dementia and those caring for them to lead full and varied lives as part of the community in which they live.
• Work in close partnership with other agencies as part of a multi disciplinary team providing support to enable the service user to continue living in their own home.
• Enable people to be discharged home from hospital or long term care
• Offer practical help and advice to carers.

The help Flexicare can provide
The service encourages individuals to maintain life skills and continue living independently in the community. This could be helping someone to cook or use domestic equipment in a safe manner. It could mean helping someone to visit an old friend or continue a hobby. The service can lead to new interests. It offers the opportunity to meet new people through visits to our lunch clubs and groups.

A personal support plan is developed with the individual and their carers. This plan details how and when the service will be provided. An essential part of the service is to provide consistent support. This is maintained through the allocation of a key worker and an associate worker who provides cover at holiday and other times. These key staff are carefully matched to service users through common interests and backgrounds.

Although a plan is agreed when the service commences at Flexicare we can easily adapt personal plans to suit changing individual needs.

for older people with dementia living in the local community

Regional service (Fife, Glasgow, North Lanarkshire).

Referrals are made to Flexicare by the Social Work Department. They tell
us about the people who may benefit from the service.

If you would like to know more about the flexicare service please contact any of our offices and we will direct you to the relevant flexicare team.

Edinburgh Office
79 Hopetoun Street E
dinburgh EH7 4QF
Tel. 0131 273 4000
Fax. 0131 557 6327
Email: info@bield.co.uk

Glasgow Office
7 Eagle Street
Glasgow G4 9XA
Tel. 0141 270 7200
Fax. 0141 331 2686
Email: info@bield.co.uk

Flexicare Staff
The staff employed to provide Flexicare services are unique individuals. They are innovative and creative. They frequently need to think on their feet and adapt to meet the needs of the individual

At Bield we invest in staff by providing good training and support. This is crucial to the success of the Flexicare projects.

Working in Partnership
Flexicare can be provided alongside other services such as Home Care. It may be provided on its own.

Referrals are made to Flexicare by the Social Work Department. They tell us about the people who may benefit from the service.

Regulation and inspection
All flexicare services are registered with the Care Commission. The services are subject to regular independent inspections. Reports on the inspection are publicly available.

Dementia care, Support for carers, Support

14/10/2011