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Crossroads Weekend Care |
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We run a weekend care
service from 9.30-4.00pm every Saturday and
Sunday (except Christmas) in Maidenhead, at St Marks
Hospital Day Centre, and on Sundays in Windsor at Helena
Ward in King Edward VII hospital. |
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On Saturdays
Windsor clients are picked up by minibus
and taken to St Marks.
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carers - particularly carers of people with dementia - a
well earned break for a few hours while those needing
care are looked after by our experienced staff. |
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It is an enjoyable
day, including music, singalongs, games and quizzes,with
breakfast on arrival, cooked lunch and afternoon tea. |
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Are you
a carer? Or do you know someone who is? If so, you’ll
know just how stressful it can be to care for a relative
or friend at home - often round the clock for months or
years on end. Because of this, all unpaid family carers
need time off for themselves. Non-stop caring can lead
to exhaustion and even breakdown, so two people may end
up needing care instead of one. Regular breaks for at
least a few hours or more each week allows carers to
refresh themselves and lead a partial life of their own.
This helps them to continue caring for disabled people
at home who might otherwise have to go into residential
or hospital care. |
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Windsor
& Maidenhead Crossroads exists to provide such breaks
for carers. We started up in 1992 and we now work with
about 150 families in the Royal Borough. A highly
trained, paid, experienced member of our 21-strong staff
comes to the home and looks after the cared-for person
while the regular unpaid family carer takes a break. As
far as possible the Crossroads worker is sympathetically
matched with both the Carer and the disabled person, and
usually becomes a firm “friend “ of the family. |
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We try
to make sure that as far as possible we meet the needs
of both the carer and the person who needs care by means
of an individually, mutually agreed package . We cover
the whole range of age and disability, including
children who need long-term care as well as adults. Our
service is flexible. The breaks we offer are usually
three or four hours during the week or weekends and
occasionally overnight. |
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Although
our Crossroads breaks are normally home-based, our staff
may also take the person who needs care on an outing in
good weather. Crossroads also provides occasional
outings for groups of carers and their families. Such
social forms of break are very popular. |
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Many
people do not see themselves as carers and as such are
unaware that breaks are available and it is sometimes
hard to convince them that they could benefit from a
Crossroads break. The best form of information is
through personal contact, but other forms of signposting
are important. These include the use of local press and
broadcasting, leaflets in doctors’ surgeries and
hospitals and publicity campaigns such as National
Carers’ Week, which is in June every year. |
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Finance
for Crossroads comes from three main sources - the Royal
Borough of Windsor and Maidenhead, the National Lottery
and our own fundraising. We work closely with the
Borough’s social care services and with the East
Berkshire Primary Care Trust. We welcome efforts by GP
surgeries to give greater recognition to carers by
keeping a register of local people who are caring for
someone at home. We understand that in some parts of
Berkshire GPs are actually prescribing breaks for
carers. Could this happen here? |
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The Crossroads table at a lunch for carers at Dorney
Lake last year |
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Our Supporters |
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Ascot
Fire Brigade Trust
Barker
Bridge Houses Trust
Charles
Coleman Solicitors
Community Council, Berkshire
Haines
Hill Charitable Trust
Help
the Aged
Hitachi
Europe Charitable Trust
Louis
Baylis Charity (Maidenhead Advertiser)
RS
Brownless Charitable Trust
Ted
Russell Charitable Trust
The
Albert Hunt Trust
The
Colefax Charitable Trust
The
Co-operative Dividend
The
Prince Philip Trust
Top
Print, Windsor
Windsor &
Maidenhead Christian Trust
Ascot
Round Table
Lions
Club Maidenhead
Probus
Club of Windsor
Rotary
Club Ascot
Rotary
Club Maidenhead
Rotary
Club Windsor and Eton
Thames
Rotary Wives
Windsor
Lions
Datchet
United Charities
Poor’s
Estate Parish of Eton
Sunninghill and Ascot Parish Council
White
Waltham Parish Council
Windsor
Housing
Wraysbury Parochial Charity
All
Saints Church, Dedworth
Kingsway United Reform Church
New
Windsor Parish/ St. John’s Baptist
PCC
Windsor Parish Church
St.
Luke’s Church
St.
Stephens and St. Agnes
Boyne
Hill Petanque Club
Windsor
Cricket Club
Quince
Players
Riverside Players
The
Windsor Martyrs
The Big Lottery
Maidenhead & District Housing Assn
Windsor & District Housing |
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