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Conditions and disabilities

Information about the help that is available for people with dementia, physical or complex disabilities, sensory impairment, mental health challenges or need to contact the occupational therapists or Shopmobility.

Support available

Adult Services can provide support or advice for people with a physical disability – including sensory impairment and/or a learning disability. If you would like to find out more please contact the Access Team on 01724 297000.

This service is able to put you in touch with voluntary organisations that may be able to assist you. It can also advise you about who to contact for financial assistance.

Further information

What do we do?

We provide an assessment and care and support planning service for adults who live with a learning and/or physical disability. This includes adults who live with a sensory impairment.

We also support young people from 14 -18 who are preparing for adulthood, who have additional needs and are eligible for support from Adult and Community Wellbeing. We work closely with education, health and children’s services to make this transition from school or college as smooth as possible.

How can I be referred or make contact?

If you are an adult living with a learning, physical or sensory disability you can be referred to the team for advice, information and support. You could also be a young person preparing for adulthood. It may be you, your family or someone you know, for example your teacher or doctor (GP). If you do not have a named worker to support you with this referral, please contact the Adult and Community Wellbeing Access team on 01724 297000.

Someone from Adult and Community Wellbeing will contact you to discuss your request. This will be over the telephone, or at your home, or somewhere else – like work, college or our office.  We will always provide information, support and advice to access further services, including how to get support.

What we can help you with?

  • Information, advice and signposting to other support
  • Assessment and reviews – know your needs and achieve your planned outcomes
  • Relationships and lifestyle
  • Crisis Intervention and safeguarding adults
  • Support with specialist housing needs
  • Community access
  • Low level equipment for sensory impairment
  • Disability registration.

Working together to support people with complex needs and learning disabilities. We work closely with senior practitioners, behavioural support officers and a team of social workers and external providers.

For support and advice please call 01724 297000

What can we help you with?

We can:

  • Work with you and teach you new skills to help your needs
  • Support you to have a choice, respect, friendship and be part of the community
  • Teach those around you how to help you to stay calm and find new ways to deal with what upsets or angers you
  • Use a person-centred approach
  • Listen to you and the people who know you best
  • Work with your family and people you live with to help you feel happier
  • Making a referral
  • All referrals come via the Integrated Learning Disability Services.

Once a referral is made – What happens next?

We will:

  • Arrange a meeting with you to meet you and your family
  • Carry out observations and assessments
  • Work with you and those you know to learn new positive behaviours
  • Meet your family/carer/key worker to talk about ideas and recommendations.

We work to support young people into adulthood following the transitions pathway. Transition from school or college is a time of opportunity, change and challenge for all. A social worker from adult services will start to meet and get to know you from the age of 14 (but no later than 17). This will depend on your level of need and the support you require. For further information please contact the team on 01724 297000.

Additionally, the SEND Local Offer website provides further information and resources about preparing for adulthood.

North Lincolnshire’s Autism Plan ambition is for North Lincolnshire to be the best place for all residents to be safe, well, prosperous and connected, experiencing better health and wellbeing.

A multi-agency Autism Plan working group with colleagues from North Lincolnshire Council, North Lincolnshire Health and Care Partnership, Rotherham, Doncaster and South Humber NHS Foundation Trust and North Lincolnshire and Goole NHS Foundation Trust, has led the co-development of the plan.

The plan has a focus on the six priority areas included in the national strategy:

  • Improving understanding and acceptance of autism within society
  • Improving autistic children and young people’s access to education and supporting positive transitions into adulthood
  • Supporting more autistic people into employment
  • Tackling health and care inequalities for autistic people
  • Building the right support in the community
  • Improving support within the criminal and youth justice systems.

Read our North Lincolnshire Autism Plan 2022-2026 [PDF, 2Mb] and view our simplified Autism Plan on a page [PDF, 106Kb]

Northern Lincolnshire and Goole NHS Foundation Trust (NLaG) have moved all of the Community and Therapy services in North Lincolnshire under a Single Point of Access.

From referrals to patient queries, the new Single Point of Access will provide a seamless point of entry into community health services which is accessible 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.

Health professionals and patients can call 03033 306602 to get through to the following services:

  • Community Urgent Response Team & Community Matrons
  • Community District Nursing Team
  • Adult Therapy
  • Bladder & Bowel Service
  • Tissue Viability & React to Red
  • Phlebotomy

Our Service Advisors will ensure that patients are routed into the most appropriate service to meet their needs. The team provides advice and guidance through a triage process, where urgency of response is determined, and advice provided where another response might be appropriate.

Occupational Therapy Service (Adult Social Care)

For information and advice on independent living please visit the Independent Living page.

Dementia is a condition which is caused when the brain becomes damaged by certain diseases. Whilst it is more common in older people, it is not an inevitable part of ageing.

Dementia affects everyone differently and can cause a wide range of symptoms. You may start to struggle with day-to-day tasks, have problems with your memory, thinking, concentration and language and show changes in your mood and personality.

It is progressive, which means that symptoms may get worse over time.

Getting a diagnosis

If you are concerned that you or someone you know may have dementia, you should contact your GP. The GP will make an initial diagnosis or refer you to a specialist.

It is important that you get a proper diagnosis to find out whether the symptoms are as a result of dementia or caused by some other condition such as infection.

Support

The Alzheimer’s Society offers an online service where you can have a live chat with a dementia advisor. Dementia Advice and Support Workers are available to provide you with information, advice and guidance, help you understand your diagnosis of dementia, provide carers with practical coping skills and advice on how to best manage the day to day challenges that you may face in the future.

Peggy’s World supports families living with dementia, older age and/or frailty and supported by our specialist Dementia Nurse. They have many years of personal and professional experience working in the health and social care sector. They provide support to families living with learning disabilities, mental health needs, older age and dementia, and they understand the complexities that affect the quality of life for all concerned.

Peggy’s Place is a safe place for families to attend in North Lincolnshire, facilitated by specialist support from the Dementia Specialist Nurse. It is a place to come and share with others in a similar situation and to gain peer support. People with dementia may like to be involved in an activity session while their carer talks to others. Families can come together but have different needs met at the same time.

Developmental disabilities such as autism are also classed as sensory impairments, as they interfere with how someone reacts with the outside world. Sensory impairments can be very mild, such as permanently needing glasses to see properly. They can be severe, such as struggling to see even with glasses. Or they can be very severe, such as a complete loss of vision.

What support services are available?

Impairments can be frustrating in their mild form, and may require minor adjustments to your life. More severe impairments, however, can be life-changing, requiring major life adjustments. There is support there for you, which can help you manage the physical and psychological changes impairments can bring to your life. There are many support services, both local and national.

Adapting to a sensory impairment

Sometimes, impairments may not be particularly serious, and you only need to make minor changes, such as needing glasses. However, being told you have an impairment that cannot be treated, or that will get worse, can be very difficult to come to terms with. Some people can go through a process similar to grief: shock, anger, denial, and, eventually, acceptance of their condition. However, with the right support and guidance, you can still live a happy, fulfilled life.

Your workplace is obligated to provide adjustments to help you continue your role if they can be implemented. For example, if you work in an office, special software could be installed on your laptop to help you if you are visually impaired. More information is provided on the Gov.uk access-to-work webpages.

It is common to experience a wide range of emotions, as well as bouts of anxiety, depression, and stress, as a reaction to bad news. If you do feel that these emotions are becoming overwhelming, you should consider visiting your GP.

Some further organisations that may be able to offer advice and support are:

Mental health support

You can contact the Mental Health Social Work Team on 01724 297000. Mental health professionals will be able to assess your needs and provide support.

For emergencies please dial 999 or contact your GP

Rotherham Doncaster and South Humber (RDaSH) adult mental health services provide support across North Lincolnshire.

The Options Recovery College offer a range of educational courses which are aimed at supporting people to make the most of their skills and talents to enable them to deal with mental health challenges.

Further information can be found here on advice and information about how to live a healthier life and what support is available if you are worried about your health.

Healthwatch North Lincolnshire provide a range of resources on their webpages, including useful links to mental health support within North Lincolnshire.

Further sources of information and support are:

Mental health and older people

Older people are as susceptible to mental health problems as younger people, having to cope with ongoing illness, pain, and the death of a partner and friends.

There is evidence of a high level of depression and anxiety in older people who are socially isolated. There is a connection between social isolation and poor physical health.

There are certain groups who are more at risk of a decline in mental wellbeing. These include:

  • Carers
  • Recently separated or divorced
  • Those living alone with little opportunity to socialise
  • Recently retired
  • Unemployed in later life
  • Those on a low income
  • People suffering from a recent health problem or with an age related disability
  • People who have had to give up driving.

Older people often fail to recognise that they have a mental health problem, dismissing low mood and loss of interest in their community and surroundings as an inevitable part of ageing.

This is not always the case, and therefore if you have been feeling low, it is important to contact your GP.

There are ways you can look after your mental health:

Keeping connected

Keeping connected with others via group activities, mentoring and befriending.

Lifelong learning

Learning activities give people a sense of purpose and boost self-esteem, combating social isolation and depression, enabling people to make new friends providing the opportunity for people to talk about issues which may be affecting them.

Adult Community Learning have a range of courses available.

Volunteering

Volunteering can increase self-confidence and self-esteem as helping others provides a sense of accomplishment, pride and identity, and therefore helps to change negative self-perceptions. It also provides a good opportunity to meet others.

If you are interested in volunteering this links might help you.

Mindfulness

Taking notice of surroundings, and being mindful about feelings in the present moment promote good mental health and wellbeing.

Mindfulness also allows people to become more aware of thoughts and feelings that they experience and to see how they can become entangled in negative thought processes, which provoke anxiety and depression.

NHS Choices has a range of information about mindfulness and how it can bring about reductions in stress and improvements in mood.

Be active

Regular aerobic activity such as brisk walking, and muscle strengthening activities can also support mental wellbeing.

Exercise is also beneficial for more dependent adults, with evidence suggesting that supervised walking can be beneficial.

Aerobic activity also helps maintain cognitive function by improving circulation, regulating blood pressure and cholesterol and reducing the risk of developing dementia.

See our leisure centre pages for more information about our available activities

We run Shopmobility schemes in Ashby and Scunthorpe. Anyone with a mobility problem can hire wheelchairs or motorised scooters for free.

More information is available on our Shopmobility page.

Contact

01724 297000