{"id":1969,"date":"2015-12-15T15:46:26","date_gmt":"2015-12-15T15:46:26","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blogs.scotland.gov.uk\/health-and-social-care-integration\/?p=1969"},"modified":"2018-11-30T15:00:32","modified_gmt":"2018-11-30T15:00:32","slug":"west-dunbartonshire-link-up-community-services-and-support-2","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.gov.scot\/health-social-care\/2015\/12\/15\/west-dunbartonshire-link-up-community-services-and-support-2\/","title":{"rendered":"West Dunbartonshire Link Up Community Services and Support"},"content":{"rendered":"

West Dunbartonshire Link Up supports older people to live well in the community. Run by the West Dunbartonshire Health and Social Care Partnership<\/a> (HSCP) in partnership with\u00a0West Dunbartonshire Community and Volunteering Service\u00a0(CVS), Link Up relies on highly trained volunteers \u2013 all aged 55\u00a0years\u00a0and over \u2013 to help people in the community to access services and support through a single point of contact.<\/p>\n

It depends on the trust and confidence of older people as volunteers: whose existing\u00a0community contacts and expertise have been harnessed to create a community-wide web of intelligence and knowledge on the range and type of supports available across West Dunbartonshire.<\/p>\n

Megan, from Faifley in West Dunbartonshire, volunteers with the Link Up service. She explains why the service is so important to her and to older people living in the community:<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>\u201cWith the Link Up Service it\u2019s people just like me that gain from it. It\u2019s frustrating when you\u2019re trying to find local information about a service, then you call and have to wait and listen to an automated message before you get anywhere. With Link Up, it\u2019s great just to pick up the phone and immediately speak to a helpful voice at the other end who can give support and advice straight away. Through experience, we know the people and services to direct callers to, so we can help them in a much quicker and friendlier way.\u2019<\/p>\n

Megan knows first-hand how some of the people who phone up for support feel, with one elderly lady saying:<\/p>\n

\u2018My accident was really bad luck, I was playing bowls with my friends, I had started to play to get out more and take some exercise. I walked into a ditch and twisted my foot; the bone in my ankle came out! It wasn\u2019t very pleasant. After the accident I couldn\u2019t move my leg for eight months as it was in a cast; I could walk a little bit with the aid of a zimmer but couldn\u2019t even boil a kettle or pour out a hot drink. It was a very boring time of my life.<\/p>\n

When the cast came off I contacted Link Up and they put me in touch with\u00a0some fantastic people from the COPT (the Integrated Community Older People\u2019s Team). The staff there taught me to walk first on two and now one crutch, to go up and down stairs and helped me to get out of the flat. But I had got myself into a rut and sitting around at home. As a widow I was alone, except for my dog, often driving my daughter mad. She persuaded me to think about starting volunteering again and she was right\u201d.<\/p>\n

Megan\u00a0added:<\/p>\n

\u201cWhen I heard about Link Up I thought it might really suit me. I already knew some of the staff from being part of the Community Council in my area and I knew a bit about CVS. I also understand what it\u2019s like to need some company and support.<\/p>\n

I gain a lot of self-worth from volunteering with the Link Up Service. Being around other people is really important \u2013 I feel like I\u2019m part of a family here. I\u2019ve loved it ever since I started and it\u2019s so rewarding to say that I\u2019m helping out with an important service. The fact that Link Up has now won so many awards and I\u2019ve been able to go to the ceremonies and talk to people about the service has been amazing.<\/p>\n

Link Up promotes the independence of the volunteers. We stay active and participate in our own communities. The West Dunbartonshire\u00a0HSCP and CVS have provided us all with training so that we understand what the supports and services are available within our communities. I\u2019ve now started befriending too and also do telephone befriending, so when I am working at Link Up I can talk to those who don\u2019t want visits but like a blether.\u00a0Personally, this has helped me and I feel that I can help others. I want to continue here for a good while yet.\u201d<\/p>\n

For more information about\u00a0West Dunbartonshire Link Up contact:\u00a0http:\/\/www.wdcvs.com\u00a0or call\u00a00141 941 0886<\/strong><\/p>\n

Background on West Dunbartonshire Link Up<\/strong><\/p>\n

West Dunbartonshire Link Up was developed as a key element of the Reshaping Care For Older People\u2019s local Change Fund Programme. It has been devised and supported as a partnership between the now West Dunbartonshire Health & Social Care Partnership (HSCP) and West Dunbartonshire Community and Volunteering Service (WDCVS).<\/p>\n

Link Up provides \u201cone stop shop\u201d access \u2013 through a single point of contact \u2013 for local older people and their carers to a coordinated range of HSCP and third sector services, including Carers of West Dunbartonshire, Lomond and Clyde Care and Repair and Shop-Mobility.<\/p>\n

Key objectives of Link Up are to ensure local older people and their carers:<\/p>\n