What does Derwen offer?

One point of contact for the Team

Advice and information

An Initial Assessment by a Duty Officer

Professional input to meet the child’s needs

Multi-agency review of the child’s needs

A right to an assessment of the carer’s needs.

What is Derwen? An Integrated Team for Disabled Children working

with children and young people between 0 - 18 years

of age in Gwynedd. The Team provides assessment,

intervention and support for disabled children and

young people with continuing needs as a result of

disabilities or illness. The Team aims to support

families, carers and the wider community in order to

promote the health and welfare of disabled children

and young people in Gwynedd.

What will happen once my child has

been referred to Derwen?

The Team will:

Identify with you the needs of your child

Refer your child to any service that he/she may

need

Help to co-ordinate a care plan for your child

Regularly review and monitor the action plan and

care plan for your child

Aim to ensure that all professionals who offer your

child a service work together

Talk about your child’s future, and help prepare and

plan for the future

Discuss your concerns and provide support should

you need it

Be available to support you by accompanying you to

meetings or writing letters on your behalf if you so

wish

Provide support services, where there is a need

Provide practical help and advice.

Who can refer a child to Derwen?

The child or young person

Parent / Carer

Professionals with the consent of the family

ELIGIBILITY CRITERIA FOR SERVICE

……./…….

Derwen works with

disabled children who

have …..

Derwen does not offer

a service to children ….

….. current needs where the

team can be of assistance.

….. where a disabled child’s

needs are currently being met.

….. illness or a mental health

condition in addition to a

disability.

….. with illness or mental

health condition but who are

not disabled.

….. several significant

developmental delays or

severe delay to assess

further.

….. where there is a mild delay

in an area of development

e.g. speech and language or

toileting.

….. behavioural problems as

well as significant

developmental delay.

….. with behavioural

problems where there is no

significant developmental

continued …….

Derwen works with

disabled children who

have …..

Derwen does not offer

a service to children ….

….. significant sensory

impairment e.g. hearing/sight

which affects the child’s

ability to experience a full

life.

….. with sensory impairment

e.g. hearing/sight which has

been dealt with successfully.

….. a disability or significant

developmental delay where

mainstream services are

unable to meet their

specialist needs.

….. who have developmental

delay and/or disability but

where mainstream services

meet their needs.

….. ADHD as well as a

disability or significant

developmental delay.

….. with ADHD but who are

not disabled or have

significant developmental

delay.

….. a professional from

another team who needs

specialist assistance from

Derwen to jointly assess or

offer intervention.

….. where the work of

another team (e.g. the child

protection investigation) is

the primary focus and there

is no need for further

disability specialist

assessment/intervention.

Who works for Derwen?

Derwen is a partnership between the Betsi Cadwaladr

University Health Board and Gwynedd Council’s Social

Services Department. The Team includes:

CUSTOMER CARE AND DUTY OFFICER

The Officer’s role is to give good customer care to families and

carers of children who are referred to the integrated service by:

Responding promptly to all the new referrals to the service,

Completing an initial assessment of the child and his/her

carers,

Providing background information to families about the

service,

Supporting families and carers in the Initial Planning Meeting,

Keeping in touch with families whilst waiting for further

service.

COMMUNITY NURSES

The role of the Nurse is to empower the parent/carer to

achieve the child’s potential. The Nurse will provide the

parent/carer with advice, knowledge and the skills that are

needed to assist with this. The role of the parent/carer is to

carry out the advice that has been agreed by them and the

nurse and report the child’s progress at each appointment.

CLINICAL PSYCHOLOGISTS

Clinical Psychologists assess and build an understanding of the

child’s developmental difficulties, feelings and behaviour. This helps

with planning what will be useful for the child’s development and

well-being. Psychologists may work with the child, family or

others to bring about changes to promote development and

well-being.

SOCIAL WORKERS

Social Workers work with children/young people and their

families to ensure the child/young person’s needs are being met.

They can support and work in partnership with the child/young

person and their families in order to complete assessments.

Social Workers organise packages of care when necessary, and

can make recommendations or referrals to other services and

agencies. They also keep detailed records and participate in

relevant meetings.

EDUCATION LIAISON OFFICER

The Education Liaison Officer aims to facilitate life in schools

for children and young people with disabilities by making sure

that all the agencies supporting the individual are working

together successfully. This sometimes entails discussions with

more than one profession at a time - depending on the needs

of the child/young person.

An important part of the job is to promote co-working

between professional workers from Derwen and:

The Education Department - including the Special

Educational Needs Joint Committee.

The Health Service - including therapists from various

teams.

The aim is to ensure that children and young people gain

access to a wide and balanced curriculum according to their

ability, whether this may be in mainstream schools, within

special units, or in special schools.

SUPPORT SERVICES

The Support Services work closely with other members of

the Derwen team. Support Workers are employed to work

varied hours in order to:

Enable the child/young person to take part in various

activities in the community, e.g. swimming, attending a

Youth Club, or joining a club such as the Scouts.

……./…….

Give the carers a break by taking the child or young

person out into the community,

Look after a child or young person in their own home,

Provide overnight care in the home, if practically possible.

The number of children who receive assistance from the

Support Services is highest during the summer holidays.

OCCUPATIONAL THERAPIST

(Adaptations)

Following the referrals meeting and initial screening, the

Occupational Therapist (OT) will provide an assessment based

on the child/young person’s individual needs. Needs may be

due to manual handling or care needs - advice and

recommendations will be made to minimise risk and ensure

safety when handling.

Advice may also be given regarding minor adaptations e.g.

stair rails. The criteria for major adaptations requires that

the child/young person has a substantial and permanent

disability or needs. Further assessment to identify the needs

will be carried out.

INFORMATION OFFICER

The Information Officer provides information to children

and families on:

Self-help groups

Voluntary organisations/services

Leisure and sport activities

Gwynedd’s Register for Disabled Children

Fun Days for disabled children and their families

organised by Derwen.

The Enfys newsletter is distributed three times a year to

children who are on the ‘Register for Disabled Children and

Children Who Are Ill’. It contains articles about young

people, services, and useful contacts, information and events.

* * * * * * * *

The Derwen team also works closely with

Community Paediatricians, Educational

Representatives, Therapists, Health Visitors,

and other relevant professions.

DISABLED CHILDREN’S REGISTER

The Children Act 1989 places the responsibility on all local

authorities in Britain to keep an up-to-date list of disabled

children in their area in order to monitor and imporve the

planning of services, and to provide information. In Gwynedd

this list is called the ‘Disabled Children’s Register,’ and is kept

on a computer database. The information kept on the

‘Register’ is confidential - and is restricted to Derwen team

members via the Information Officer.

Inclusion on the ‘Disabled Chidren’s Register’ is voluntary,

but there are many benefits if parents agree to their child’s

name being included. You will receive:

Yr Enfys newsletter - three times a year

Our ‘Service Directory’ – a file full of information about

disabilities and services

Information about training/events/support from local

organisations.

If you would like to include your child on the ‘Disabled

Children’s Register’, please contact our Information Officer

at the Derwen office in Caernarfon.

HOW TO CONTACT DERWEN

Or e-mail: Derwen@gwynedd.gov.uk

HOW TO MAKE A COMMENT/COMPLAINT

OR GIVE A COMPLIMENT

We want to make sure that our service is of a high quality,

and your comments and suggestions are very important to us.

Please tell us if you are not happy with any service or if you

feel we could do things better. If it has not been possible to

resolve a problem initially then you can write to us with your

comment or complaint to one of the above addresses.

We also want to know when things go well, or if you have

ideas as to how we can do things differently or better.

ARFON

Bron Hendre,

South Road

Caernarfon

LL55 2HP

01286 674686

DWYFOR

Health Centre

Ala Road

Pwllheli

LL53 5BL

01758 701000

MEIRIONNYDD

Meirionnydd Area

Offices

Cae Penarlâg

Dolgellau

LL40 2YB

01341 424503