Small Changes, Big Independence
- 4 hours ago
- 3 min read
Finding the right service at the right time to help you live well
Want to find support and resources available, explore Community Connections Moray, a new platform being designed, developed and tested locally in partnership with Moray Health & Social Care, third sector, and citizens, to help people find local groups, services and online resources that support health, wellbeing, and independent living in one place.
You can use this platform for yourself, including services for role unpaid carer, or to find help for someone you support
This platform brings information from the NHS, social care, charities, community groups, independent providers, and local businesses into one easy-to-use place where people can explore over 650 services in their local area that can benefit them.
It is free and easy to use, with support grouped into helpful sections which include, wellbeing and mental health, personal support, housing, and health and social care. Examples include services in Occupational Therapy including Access Care Team Moray and AskSARA.
You do not need to create an account to use Community Connections, and no personal information is stored on the system, even when making a self-referral to a service, ensuring you will not receive any unsolicited correspondence.
You can access community connections Moray here: https://communityconnect.scot
AskSARA
AskSARA is a free online service that can be accessed through Community Connections Moray. To address the demand on the community Occupational Therapy Services and to offer supported guidance for those with lower-level need before making a referral, Moray is now testing the AskSARA platform within a new digital pathway for citizens.
What is AskSARA and how can it benefit me?
AskSARA is an easy-to-use online tool that gives personalised advice on equipment and simple home adaptions to help people of all ages stay independent.
You can get guidance on everyday challenges such as:
Moving around your home
Getting in and out of bed, chairs or the toilet
Bathing and Showering
Cooking, eating and drinking
Using technology for reminders, staying connected or detecting falls
How does AskSARA work?
Step 1: Visit the AskSARA Moray Website
Step 2: Choose the topic you need help with
Step 3: Answer a few questions about your situation
Step 4: Receive a free personalised report with:
Clear advice based on Occupational Therapy expertise
A list of products and equipment that may help, with links to where you can buy them
Extra contacts and information
Option to save or share the report with family, friends or care workers
Why should I use AskSARA?
If you are struggling with mobility or activities of daily living but are unsure what might help, AskSARA can provide tailored recommendations, and offers impartial options for private purchase from a range of reputable suppliers. Linked to the Disabled Living Foundation’s website, it has access to over 10,000 products, 950 national suppliers and 800 local retailers. This can help people to quicky find their own solutions to simple problems, or to wait well for an OT assessment when this is required.
What makes the platform unique, is that the automated recommendations based on your answers have been developed by Occupational Therapists. It is owned by a charity not a company and does not sell products or save your data, so recommendations are impartial and you will not be contacted by any companies trying to sell you anything. Where necessary the system will recommend when a referral should be made to the occupational therapy team.
Information about Digital Health and Care Innovation Centre
Health and Care services across Scotland are facing unprecedented capacity challenges due to an aging population and reduced working age population, compounded by public service financial pressures and the cost-of-living crisis.
Through UK Government investment via the Moray Growth Deal, Scotland’s Digital Health and Care Innovation Centre (DHI) is working with local health, care and third sector services and most importantly the citizens of Moray to help identify key issues, and co-develop digital solutions to address these issues, ahead of potential national rollout.
The top three asks the protect has responded to:
A need for a one-stop shop to help citizens and those who support them to find the services that are right for them at the right time
A need to integrate communications across services to help reduce the need for citizens to repeat their story
A need to find innovative ways to reduce waiting times for citizens and to help direct limited statutory services to where they are needed most, through increased supported self-management opportunities, and a shift to early intervention preventative and proactive delivery.
If you use the service, we would be very grateful if you could take a moment to complete the short survey to tell us anonymously about your experience https://app.onlinesurveys.jisc.ac.uk/s/uhi/asksara-questionnaire