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A pilot scheme launched by Jersey Post could set a new direction for care in the community. It is being hailed by those taking part as a ground-breaking initiative, which will help not only a large proportion of the community benefit with social inclusion, but also those who are carers.
A pilot scheme launched by Jersey Post could set a new direction for care in the community. It is being hailed by those taking part as a ground-breaking initiative, which will help not only a large proportion of the community benefit with social inclusion, but also those who are carers.
The Call and Check scheme is being launched in St Brelade on Monday 4th November, with the help of the parish authorities and a number of community organisations. The concept is simple. Posties knock on the door of those people who have signed up to the scheme on a regular basis, depending on the frequency requested by the customer. The postie will check that everything is alright and ask whether the individual has any immediate needs or issues. Anything that is reported will be passed on to one of the relevant partner organisations for them to respond appropriately.
All posties on the scheme will have had an appropriate police check. They are not intended to be health carers or medical workers, rather will be a bridge between the individual and the experts, a familiar and smiling face to let people know they are being checked on.
St Brelade Constable Steve Pallett has welcomed the initiative, saying: ‘St Brelade is a caring parish with a strong community spirit and sense of social responsibility. We have a lot of people living in the Parish and it is difficult to have regular contact with everyone. Using a resource like the postal service, who are visiting a lot of properties on a daily basis, makes absolute sense and will be a real support for the different organisations operating here. A great deal of thought and planning has gone into the pilot scheme and, now that we have a launch date, we want as many parishioners to get involved as possible.’
Joe Dickinson, who is leading the project for Jersey Post, said: ‘Most people get to know our posties and we felt the strong bond between postie and customer could be used to bring additional benefits to our community, over and above delivering the mail. We have been delighted with the support we have received from our partner organisations and also the number of people already signed up to the trial. If this pilot is a success, we hope to roll the scheme out across the whole Island.’
Anyone wishing to take part needs to complete a form, available by emailing callandcheck@jerseypost.com. Individuals can also be referred by a third party such as family and friends, their doctor or voluntary and community groups.
The trial scheme in St Brelade is being funded by Jersey Post and will run for three months.
