How Adult Social Care can support you

In Camden, we want everyone to be as healthy, active and independent as possible, and to be able to do the things that matter to them.

We know that some people need some support to achieve this. You might want some support with things like connecting to what’s going on in your local community, developing or maintaining relationships with friends and family, or carrying out everyday tasks.

Whatever it is, we will start by having a conversation with you to find out who you are and what is important to you. We'll work with you to come up with a plan for how we can help you to achieve what it is that you want to achieve. Building on your strengths, interests and values, we'll always focus on what you can do, not what you can't do.

Watch the video to find out more about how we work together with adults in Camden through our 'What Matters' approach.

Who may need care and support?

Adults may need care and support because:

• their health has deteriorated and they need advice and support
• they provide unpaid care for a friend or relative
• their mobility is compromised due to illness, older age or other reasons
• they have a hearing or visual impairment that affects their day-to-day life
• they have a learning disability or physical disability
• they struggle to look after their personal care and daily living

How to contact us

Our Camden Care Choices website offers a lot of advice, information on local services, and guidance.

If you would like to request social care support from Camden's Adult Social Care (ASC) for yourself or on behalf of someone else, please complete this form.

If you are having difficulties completing the form, please call Contact Camden: 

Phone: 020 7974 4444, and say 'Adult Social Care' when prompted. 

If you need urgent support or are concerned about the immediate safety of a vulnerable person, please call Contact Camden on 020 7974 4444 and when prompted, say 'Adult Social Care.'

In Camden, we want to support people to live healthy, active and independent lives for as long as possible, and to be able to do the things that matter to them. We want to give people more choice, and more control, over their care and support. We will involve people in the decisions that affect them – encouraging them to make the decisions themselves when possible.

To support our residents, we no longer use a traditional approach that focuses on what’s wrong with a person (‘what’s the matter?’), which provides formal services without considering alternatives.

Instead we will:

• focus on what is most important to a person (a ‘what matters’ approach)
• recognise and build on their strengths as individuals and within their networks
• help a person to stay connected to their community
• work with them to identify problems and intervene early. This will help to tackle the root causes of any problems, not just the symptoms.

By focusing on what people can do, rather than what they can’t do, we recognise that people are experts in their own lives, and that their strengths and connections are a vital part of keeping them healthy and independent.

We will continue to work with our residents to help them to stay well, connected, and safe, providing help at a time of crisis, and ongoing support where it is needed.

Through working with our health and community partners, we will focus on preventative, proactive and joined-up care and support.

Working in this way means you have more choice and control over support, and will be involved in the decisions that affect you. The 'what matters' approach ties in to our overall strategy for Adult Social Care in Camden: Supporting People, Connecting Communities.

For more information about the care and support you can receive in Camden, visit Camden Care Choices.

The Camden Companion (PDF) is a downloadable booklet to healthy living in Camden. It provides information about where you can get support and access services to help you stay well in Camden. 

It includes information about the following:

• Assistive technology to support staying independent at home
• Dementia and memory
• Mental health
• Carers
• Smoking and alcohol
• Eating well
• Employment and training
• Volunteering
• Social activities

Download the Camden Companion

Due to coronavirus, many face to face services listed in the Camden Companion may be suspended and some services may be providing support on the telephone or online.  Please check with the relevant service or organisation. 

For information about other support and services such as mental wellbeing, food and shopping, getting practical support if you are staying at home, money and banking, and energy advice, go to Camden Care Choices.

Camden Care Choices is the council’s website for adult care and support in Camden where you can find information and advice about care and support needs.

Go to Camden Care Choices

If you provide care or support for somebody else, below are some places you can go for support:

• Contact Camden Carers via phone on 020 7428 8950 or email at info@camdencarers.org.uk
• Meet other carers for supportive virtual chats through Mobilise – a group of carers coming together for an ‘online cuppa’. Join Mobilise for free on their website
• Visit the Carers UK website for information on what to do if you’re worried about your situation

Visiting people in residential care

There are currently no nationally set direct restrictions on visiting in care homes. However, we recommend you still check directly with individual care homes about their visiting policy before making any visiting arrangements.

The Camden Mental Health Day Support Service, based at the Greenwood Centre in Kentish Town, integrates health and social care day support services. 

The service, for people aged 18 years and above, provides flexible support for people with a mental illness ranging from urgent support needs to provision of longer term reablement and recovery support. 

Time-limited Interventions

The service provides structured, time-limited interventions addressing psychological and social needs through one-to-one key working, group work and clinical interventions. The service delivers care planned support which promotes resilience and facilitates access to universal community services. The service places importance on creative expression as a way of promoting and maintaining mental health and well-being. The creative activities centre around the principle of “recovery through activity.” 

Levels of support

The full service offers three different levels of support (the timeframes may vary depending on an individual’s needs):

‘Intensive Day Support’ providing a high level of support for up to 8 weeks 

• The support will be coordinated by an NHS team, offering a clinically led program of interventions to support recovery.
• For people stepping down from acute/ crisis services requiring high-level support to rebuild structure and routine and re-settle.
• For people with mental illnesses experiencing significant deterioration in mental health (requiring more intensive support to engage in groups).

‘Reablement Day Support’ providing medium levels of support for up to 12 weeks 

• The support will focus on coping techniques and a self-help approach promoting social inclusion, building self-esteem, and goal setting.
• For people experiencing significant deterioration in mental health.
• For people needing transitional support as part of discharge plans from care coordination, secondary care, and/or core teams.
• For people requiring support, post-recent period of crisis.
• For people under primary care experiencing deterioration in mental health. 

‘Recovery Day Support’ providing longer term support for up to 18 months

• The support will nurture people in managing symptoms and learning techniques for recovery and self-care.
• A longer-term, less intensive offer to help maintain current levels of recovery, where people require support to re-establish independence (transition into community following discharge from inpatient services, discharge from the secondary care team, a departure from supported accommodation).
• For people with severe and enduring mental health needs experiencing deterioration in mental health. 

Referral

If you would like a referral to the Camden Mental Health Day Support Service then please talk to your GP or if you do have a mental health worker then speak to them. 

Staffing

The service is staffed by both Camden Council and the North London Mental Health Partnership and will work closely with wider mental health services, including voluntary and community services. 

The Greenwood Centre 

The Camden Mental Health Day Support Service is situated on the 1st and 2nd floors of the Greenwood Centre in Kentish Town. The Centre supports Independent Living and contains a café, a conference hall on the ground floor, a music studio, and an art studio on the second floor, and lots of outside space including a beautiful roof garden.

Contact

For further information, please call the CMHDS duty desk on 020 7974 6444. You can also email cmhds@camden.gov.uk to know more.