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.
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Conditions and disabilities
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 Health. 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 Social Care Connect Team 01724 297000.
Someone from Adult and Health 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, social workers and social care officers.
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
- Support for young people moving from Children’s to Adult Services, ensuring a smooth transition with the right help in place as they move into adulthood
- Make referrals to help you
- Manage referrals that come via the Integrated Learning Disability Services.
Once a referral is made to our team – 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 are here to help young people as they grow up and move from school or college into adulthood. This time can be full of new opportunities, changes, and challenges for everyone. To make this transition smoother, a social worker from adult services will start to meet and get to know you when you turn 14 (but no later than 17). This will depend on what kind of help and support you need. If you have any questions or need more information, please call our 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]
Community and Therapy services in North Lincolnshire are accessible 24/7 through the Single Point of Access (SPA) team at 03033 306602. This centralised service ensures a seamless entry into a range of community health services, including:
- 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 people 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 that affects how the brain works. It’s usually caused by diseases like Alzheimer’s or problems with blood flow in the brain. Dementia can make it harder to remember things, think clearly, talk to others, and do everyday activities. While it’s more common in older people, it doesn’t happen to everyone as they age.
Dementia affects everyone differently and can cause many different symptoms. You might find it harder to do daily tasks, have trouble with your memory, thinking, focus, and language, and notice changes in your mood and personality.
Dementia gets worse over time, which means the symptoms may become more noticeable and challenging as time goes on.
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 Social Care Connect Team offers support and advice and can be contacted on 01724 297000.
The Alzheimer’s Society offers an online service where you can have a live chat with a dementia advisor. Dementia Advice and Support Workers can provide you with information, advice and guidance. They can 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.
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. Developmental disabilities such as autism are also classed as sensory impairments, as they alter how someone responds to the world around them.
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 required 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 can have mental health problems just like younger people. They often have to deal with things like ongoing illness, pain, and the loss of a partner or friends.
There is evidence that shows older people who are socially isolated can feel very depressed and anxious, and that being alone a lot can also make their physical health worse.
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.
Sometimes, older people don’t recognise they have a mental health problem. They might think that feeling sad or losing interest in things around them is just a normal part of getting older. But that is not always true. If you’ve been feeling down, it is important to talk to 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, addressing social isolation and depression, helping 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 help you to feel better about yourself. When you help others, you feel proud and happy, which can boost your confidence and self-esteem. It also gives you a chance to meet new peoeple and make friends.
If you are interested in volunteering this links might help you.
- Northern Lincolnshire and Goole NHS Foundation Trust volunteering opportunities
- North Lincolnshire Council
- Do it.org
- Voluntary Action North Lincolnshire
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.