Click on the headings below to view our list of support and advice services for carers in Burgess Hill and the surrounding area.  This is not an exhaustive list and if you know of any other Burgess Hill organisations that could be included on this page please email helppoint@burgesshill.gov.uk.

Carers Direct
Carers Emergency Alert Card Scheme
Carers Emergency Respite Scheme
Carers Support Service North and Mid Sussex
St Peter and St James Hospice Befriender Plus Project
West Sussex Carers Website

Carers Direct

Carers Direct is a practical and comprehensive information, advice and support service for carers. Whatever you're looking for, you can call them free* on 0808 802 02 02 or visit the website: www.nhs.uk/carersdirect. *Calls are free from all UK landlines, the charge from mobiles may vary, lines are open 8am-9pm Monday-Friday and 11am-4pm on weekends and bank holidays. 

Carers Emergency Alert Card Scheme 
 The Carers Emergency Alert Card will be changing from 1st November 2011. The Carers Emergency Alert Card scheme continues to support hundreds of carers in West Sussex. The scheme ensures that a friend, neighbour or relative, as nominated by the carer, is alerted if the carer is unable to return home.

Each carer registered has a laminated card with the sentence "Carer’s Card -someone depends on me. In an emergency please telephone…". A unique identification number is printed on the card that enables staff at Chichester Careline Call Centre to make contact with the carers’ nominated person. The telephone number operates 24/7.

The scheme is for all carers in West Sussex, including parents / carers of children with special needs and a high level of dependency. Carers are asked for details of their nominated contacts, brief details of the medical condition of the person being cared for, their GP, and if relevant the details of the car they travel in. The scheme provides an initial alert service to a nominated next of kin. Carers can carry this with them to act as the first alert to their caring responsibilities.

Please note The Carers Emergency Alert Card is not the same as the Emergency Respite Service.

I'm a Carer - What Do I Need To Do?
All new referrals for the card will be dealt with by Chichester Careline. Chichester Careline will also provide the telephone response in an emergency. Referrals forms and information will be available both in hard copy and on the internet. Carers who already have a card are being contacted to update them of these changes.

Chichester Careline's contact details are as follows: telephone: 01243 778688, email: chichestercareline@chichester.gov.uk, website: www.chichestercareline.org.uk. 

Carers' Emergency Respite Scheme 
Many carers worry about what would happen to the person they care for, if, for example, they become ill, or were involved in an accident. The carers' emergency respite scheme is intended to provide the carer with peace of mind by making sure that trained home-based care can be put in place for a short time. Care can be provided for up to 48 hours, or for 72 hours over a weekend or bank holiday. This enables someone to stay safely in their own home until the emergency is over or other care arrangements can be made.

To be eligible for the scheme the carer must be providing regular and substantial care for an adult who; is either frail or has an illness, physical disability, sensory impairment or dementia; and lives at home in West Sussex.

This service is provided by Crossroads, to ask for an emergency plan, please telephone the office on 01403 243924 or email admin@westsxcrossroads.org, website: www.crossroadscarewestsussex.org  

Carers Support Service, North and Mid Sussex provides information, advice, support and a listening ear to carers. Services include:
- Carers Support Workers - who visit each GP surgery on a weekly basis
- Mental Health Carers Support Worker
- Learning Disabilities Support Worker
- Counselling and Telephone Call Back Service
- Carers Activities - such as open meetings and skills training to help carers look after their own health.
- Quarterly newsletter

All services are free and confidential. For more information click on the following link to download a leaflet, telephone: 01293 657040 or visit www.carerssupport.org.uk.

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St Peter & St James Hospice Befriender Plus Project
The Befriender Plus Project extends the existing befriending service to support carers of older people with a life-threatening illness in Mid Sussex.  The aim is to give dedicated time to the carer, for approximately 6 weeks, depending on their needs.  The ultimate aim is to relieve carer stress and enable them to maintain their own health, specifically their mental health.  The befriender works with the carer and the cared-for in their own home, providing practical help and a signposting service to help the carer access other major services.  Specific programmes of care are tailored to meet the needs of carers from minority groups.  Referral is via the hospice’s Community Palliative Care Nurse.  Contact 01444 471598, email enquiries@stpeter-stjames.org.uk or visit www.stpeter-stjames.org.uk/befriend-plus.htm

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West Sussex Carers Website
The West Sussex Carers Website helps put carers in touch with local support and services as well as providing support to carers.  www.westsussexcarers.org.uk.

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