Carers Voucher Scheme - Bedfordshire County Council

Carers Voucher Scheme
This service is run on our behalf
by the Carers Support Bureau,
which is part of Bedfordshire Rural
Communities Charity.
All Carers Services (vouchers
and direct payments) are FREE.
What can the vouchers
be used for?
The vouchers provide a paid carer,
from a Bedfordshire County Council
approved agency, to spend time with
the person you care for while you
take a break to help you;
• have some personal time
to yourself;
• socialise;
• have access to education; and
• go to work.
The vouchers provide this service
to you as a carer rather than the
person you care for. In law, the
vouchers cannot be used for a
personal care service that should
be provided by Health or Social
services to you as a carer
or to the person you care for.
2 www.bedfordshire.gov.uk
Personal care includes:
• Moving
• Handling
• Bathing.
The service you receive
depends on the needs identified
in your carers assessment. The
assessment can be done with the
person you care for or separately
Some carers use the allocation to
have a series of two hour breaks
a week, others save them up and
have a complete days break.
The choice is yours, as long as
you use the vouchers within their
three month expiry date and each
break is a minimum of one hour.
How does the scheme work?
You will need a carers assessment.
The assessment can be done
with the person you care for
or separately.
This tells us:
• If you are eligible to receive a
carers service from us
• What your needs are as a carer
• What service would best
meet your needs.