Welcome to Crossroads Care Cwm Taf
Background
Crossroads Care is a national organisation formed in 1974 and made up of a network of affiliated schemes.
Crossroads takes its name from the famous TV series (yes really)
In 1974 the producers of the famous television series gave £10,000 to set up the pilot Crossroads scheme as a result of the story line where Sandy Richardson was confined to a wheelchair following a car accident.
A young man watching the TV series was himself disabled as a result of an accident and rang ATV to congratulate them on the portrayal of the character. As a result he became an advisor to the series and the producers became aware of the needs of carers.
The first scheme, set up in Rugby with 5 care attendants (as staff were then called) is still the Head Office of the Association which now comprises nearly 200 schemes around the country. There is also an Association office in Wales which is part funded by the Welsh Assembly and supports the work of the schemes in Wales.
Each scheme is a registered charity and company limited by guarantee in their own right affiliated to the national association by a membership agreement, policies and procedures
Originally services in Rhondda Cynon Taff were provided by 3 separate schemes in each of the areas of the borough starting in 1993. In 2001 two of the schemes, Rhondda and Taff Ely merged to become Rhondda and Taff Ely Crossroads, Cynon valley joined in 2005 and the scheme, now covering the whole of the county became known as Rhondda Cynon Taff Crossroads (RCT Crossroads).
This meant that parity of services and rates could be applied to all carers in the area.
In 2009, following the retirement of the scheme manager in Merthyr Tydfil Crossroads a further merger was undertaken with RCT and Merthyr Crossroads becoming one scheme. This matched the area of the newly merged Cwm Taf Local Health Board and the scheme therefore adopted the same area name.
Just before the merger Crossroads had undertaken a rebranding exercise to ensure that our name and logo reflected our services. To this end the name of the Association and schemes became Crossroads Care with the individual names of the scheme secondary. The idea being it would be easier for carers to locate their local scheme without knowing the regional name.
Hence the name: Crossroads Care Cwm Taf
Who Cares For Carers?
Crossroads Care - the people carers turn to.
Crossroads Care Cwm Taf is an amalgamation of the former Crossroads schemes in Rhondda Cynon Taff and Merthyr Tydfil. The scheme is a registered charity and company limited by guarantee.
Charity registration number 1086698. Company number 4175312
Crossroads Care Cwm Taf provides a professional service for carers in both the county boroughs of Merthyr Tydfil and Rhondda Cynon Taff. Our services are designed to enable carers to have a break from their caring responsibilities and have time to be themsleves.
What Is A Carer?
A carer is someone, who, without payment,provides help and support to a partner, child, relative. friend or neighbour, who could not manage without their help. This could be due to age, physical or mental illness, addiction or disability.
Our Aims
We aim to:
* Improve the life of carers by giving them time to be themselves.
* To relieve family/carer stresses
* To provide a reliable service tailored to the individual needs of the carer
* To avoid unnecessary admission into hospital/residential care
* To supplement and complement statutory services
How Do We Do This?
Our Care Team assesses carers individual needs alongside the needs of the cared for and provides trained care support workers to look after the cared for.
When Do We Do This?
Our services are provided 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.
Bank Holiday cover is provided on some occasions.
Service is agreed for a set number of hours on a regular basis.
Who Will Provide The Service?
Our staff are selected for their caring, capable and responsive attitude, their willingness to work flexible hours and their ability to undertake regular training. All our care staff undergo checks through the Criminal Records Bureau and complete an in depth induction course before beginning work in the community.
Does The Service Cost?
Our assessed services are free but we also have a fee paying service for long or short term service and additional hours.
We also accept Direct Payments and Independent Living Fund towards fees.
Who do we provide service for?
Adults:
Elderly/frail
Dementia
Physically disabled
With Mental Health problems - lower needs
Terminal care
Children:
Physical disabilities
Learning disabilities
Terminal care
What Sort Of Service Do We Provide?
A home based service
Taking out in the community or in the car
Nightsits
Personal Care
Medication (within guidelines)
Light meal preparation and feeding
Certain nursing tasks (within guidelines)
Care for the terminally ill.
Domestic, Gardening, Handyman services through our subsidiary company
Who Checks On Our Quality Of Service?
We are registered with the Care and Social Services Inspectorate for Wales who carry out annual inspections of the scheme, its management and standards by visiting the offices and talking to our staff and clients.
Crossroads quality audit scheme, Croquet, is administered through the Crossroads organisation. At our last audit we were awarded Level 3 which is the highest level.
We adhere to the criteria on training and qualifications laid down by the Care Council.
We are monitored and audited by RCT County Borough Council and Merthyr Tydfil County Borough Council as an approved provider.
Our voluntary Management Board of Trustees carry out monitoring and evaluation at regular meetings.
What Other Organisations Do We Work With?
Rhondda Cynon Taff County Borough Council Social Services
Adult and Children's Teams
Merthyr Tydfil Integrated Adult Services
Alzheimers Association
Parkinson's Disease Society
Age Concern
Cwm Taf Local Health Board
RCT Education Department
RCT Carers Support Project
Viva
Communities First
Interlink/VAMT
Rathbone Training
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