Crossroads
Argyll and Bute Council · 14 May 2025
Back to Oban Lorn & the Isles Area Community Planning Group — 14 May 2025 and its agenda
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Crossroads North Argyll Respite for Unpaid Carers OLI Community Planning Group Wednesday, 14th May at 10am
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Background • Crossroads North Argyll is a Charity based in Oban, covering Oban, Lorn and the Isles. We were incorporated in May 2002. • We provide a service in Oban, Taynuilt, Dalmally and Kilchrenan; Benderloch and Appin; south of Oban to Kilmelford and the Isle of Seil and all places in between. • We also have a service on the Isle of Mull and are hoping to start a service on the Isle of Tiree.
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Staff • We have: • 1 full-time Manager • 1 full-time Assistant Manager • 1 Development Worker(30hrs) • 1 Admin Worker(30hrs) • 24 Care Attendants working variable hours
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Board Members Our Board are made up of existing Unpaid Carers and Bereaved Carers. We have 6 people on the Board who have a wealth of experience and knowledge of Unpaid Carers. Our Chairperson is Elaine Robertson, who has been with the organisation from the beginning. They are all volunteers and are a very active Board.
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What do we do? • Crossroads provides respite for Unpaid Carers. • So, what is respite? • Respite, also known as a short break, can be from a couple of hours a week, to a weekend or weeklong break. • Even a short break each week helps the Unpaid Carer do something for themselves, such as meeting up with friends, going to the hairdressers or even catching up on sleep. This all helps them to carry on in their caring role.
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What does that mean for the Unpaid Carer and Cared-for • We provide between 2hrs and 9hrs respite per week depending on what the Unpaid Carer is assessed as needing. • We take the Cared-for person out for a drive, lunch, a walk, whatever they would like to do. If they are not able to leave the house, we do activities at home e.g., jigsaws, baking, listening to music, reminiscing. • 95% of the people we support are living with some kind of dementia, so the activities we provide are tailored around their skills and needs. It is important to keep people active physically and mentally.
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Groups • We also run groups: • The Monday Group –is a mixture of bereaved carers and cared-for. • The staff pick the members up from their homes to take them for lunch at different places across Oban and out with or to places of interest. • The group members decide where they want to go each week.
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Groups cont … • We also run a group for Gypsy/Traveller Unpaid Carers and Cared-for. • We meet every two weeks, doing basket- weaving, which is very much part of their culture. • They say it is very important to keep their culture alive, which this group does by bringing them all together.
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Referrals • We receive referrals from: • Social Work • North Argyll Carers Centre • The Dementia Team • GP • District Nurses • Self referral
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Hours provided • We support 123 Unpaid Carers per week and have 12 on the waiting list • We provide 245 hours of respite each week • Our staff travel around 700mls each week
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Funding • Crossroads is a registered Charity. • We are part funded by the Health and Social Care Partnership through the Carers’ Act Funding. • Our main funding comes from external funders e.g. The National Lottery, Shared Care Scotland’s Creative Breaks, Argyll and Bute Third Sector Interface –Mental Health and Wellbeing Fund, The Crerar Trust. • We have been lucky to receive funding from smaller funders in Oban e.g. The Rotary, The Inner Wheel, Oban and Lorn Dementia Support Group, Oban Country Dancing, Oban and District Classic Vehicle Club.