Social Services

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• Bexley Care Trust
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• Drug & Alcohol Care
• Emergency Duty Team
• HIV & AIDS
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• Meals at home
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• Occupational Therapy
• Older people
• Physical / Sensory disability
• Better Care, Higher Standards Charter
• Consultations

Contact Details

• 020 8836 8069

Useful Links

• Department of Works & Pensions
• Department of Health
• National Health Service
• Bexley Care Trust

Older People's Strategy - Older and Wiser
and the Adults' Strategy incorporating the Better Care Higher Standards Charter for health, social care and housing in Bexley

We are pleased to present our Older People's Strategy - Older and Wiser and the Adults' Strategy incorporating the Better Care Higher Standards Charter for health, social care and housing in Bexley.

This is the first time that such comprehensive strategies have been produced, detailing services available to adults and older people in Bexley. The strategies have been developed with organisations working with adults and older people and their representatives and we therefore hope that you will welcome their publication and implementation. They are intended to illustrate not only the range of services available across health, social care and the community, but also the principles on which these are provided, based on the views and wishes of adults and older people in Bexley.

The strategies describe the national and local picture, set out the principles for service commissioning and provision, give information about the services and how Bexley residents can access them. These include specialised social care services and the related eligibility criteria for new applicants for 2007/08 which have been reviewed and set in order to ensure services are targeted at those in most need and efficient and effective use of resources by the Council.

For more information about the strategies, please contact Mollie Pepper on 020 8836 8069

Adults' Strategy (3.19MB, PDF file)

Older and Wiser - A strategy for older people in Bexley (3.19MB, PDF file)

Contact Points in Bexley

Please click here for a webpage listing all contact points in Bexley. The webpage is formatted so that it may be printed for future reference.

For more information

More information on the leaflets available can be obtained from the following contact along with information on how to obtain other presentation styles such as Braille and Audio tape.

Bexley Social Services Department
FREEPOST SEA 7879, Welling, Kent, DA16 3RY
or
Telephone 020 8836 8069

There are many more leaflets available in the Council Reception Areas and at many of our other partner Organisations.

Look out for them!

If you would like to make comment on the Charter, please contact Bexley Social Services Policy and Planning Unit on 020 8836 8183.

What can I do if things go wrong?

In Bexley, our aim is to make sure the services you receive meet your needs wherever possible. If you think we are not living up to our aim, we want you to tell us, so that we can try to put things right for you.

The leaflet Complaints, Comments and Suggestions provides detailed information on every stage of making a complaint. The leaflet is available at all Council Office Reception Areas.

Who should I contact?

• If you wish to make a complaint by telephone, please contact the main Council telephone number below and ask for the department that provides the service you wish to complain about.
• If you wish to make a complaint in writing, The address is: Head of Committee Services, Hillview, Hillview Drive, Welling Kent DA16 3RY and you will receive a reply within 28 days.
• If you wish to submit your complaint by e-mail, you can find a complaints form on the Contact Us section.

Care Partners Trust:

If you have any comments or concerns about Care Partners Trust, who provide home care services for the Council, you can either write to the Care Partners Trust directly at the following address:

Quality Manager, Yorkshire House, Second Floor,
110-112 Broadway, Bexleyheath, Kent, DA6 7DQ.

Oxleas NHS Trust:

If you have any comments, suggestions or concerns about adult mental health services or learning disability services provided by Oxleas NHS Trust and Bexley Council, please speak to the worker who is involved in the case in the first instance. Alternatively, contact the team coordinator with your comments or concerns. If you are unable to resolve your concerns or wish to discuss service development or operational issues in detail, contact either the appropriate Community Manager, or the Director of Adult Mental Health Services in Bexley, on 020 8301 9400. Alternative, you can write to him at:

Head of Critical Incidents & Complaints
Oxleas NHS Trust, Pinewood House, Pinewood Place,
Dartford, Kent, DA2 7WG

Oxleas NHS Trust has a PALS Service to provide advice and ensure comments and concerns are listened to. The service can be contacted on:

Patient Advice and Liaison Service (PALS)
Oxleas NHS Trust, Pinewood House, Pinewood Place,
Dartford, Kent, DA2 7WG.
Helpline: 0800 9177159

Queen Mary's Hospital NHS Trust:

Information on the comments and complaints procedure for Queen Mary's Hospital NHS Trust can be found in the leaflet 'Queen Mary's Hospital NHS Trust - Comments, Suggestions and Complaints'.

Queen Mary's has recently introduced a PALS service to ensure that all concerns and comments received are listened to and acting upon accordingly. The service also provide users with assistance and guidance should their concerns require investigation through the NHS complaints procedure.

Queen Mary's Hospital PALS Service
Tel: 020 8308 3287

Bexley Care Trust:

If you can, discuss the problem with someone involved in your case, such as your GP, Nurse Practitioner or social worker. If you wish to complain about a GP, pharmacist, dentist or optician, staff in the practice will have a complaints procedure in place and you should raise your concerns with the Manager there. If you are not happy to do this please contact the PALS Service at Bexley Care Trust on Freephone 0800 328 9712.

Our Values

These are the values agreed between health, housing and social care services in Bexley.

• We will treat you with courtesy, honesty and respect your dignity.
• We will help you to achieve and keep the maximum possible independence.
• We will work in partnership with you to provide the services you need.
• We will involve you in decisions and give you enough information to make informed choices.
• We will try to ensure that key information about the service you require is available to you in a format that suits you. This might include translated or large print, taped information, signers or interpreters.
• We will try to explain why we are asking for information, how we use and in what circumstances. We will maintain the confidentiality of information you give us. If we need to give confidential information about you to someone else, we will explain why and ask for your consent. We only share information on a need to know basis and even then, only as much information as is necessary or appropriate. We will give you information about your rights to access information that we hold about you and how to complain if you are unhappy about our use of that information.
• We will help you to give your views by providing you with contact details for advocacy and other representative organisations.
• We will treat you fairly on the basis of need. We will not discriminate against you on the basis of age, gender, race, religion, disability or sexual orientation.
• We will make sure that you feel able to complain about the standard of service you receive and that the standards of your service is not reduced, prejudiced or made worse if you complain.