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Carer Gateway service finder

What is the NHSD used for?

The NHSD is a free comprehensive national directory that includes over 350,000 service records, facilitates over 5 million database transactions each month and provides health and related service information to over 80 websites nationally.

How does the Carer Gateway service finder work?

There are three steps in the Carer Gateway service finder.

Step 1 – How can we help


At Step 1 ‘How can we help’, users of the service finder choose from one of the categories displayed to begin a search for the services they require.




The following categories are presented as options in step 1:

  • Counselling
  • Early childhood intervention
  • Help at home – cleaning, gardening, maintenance
  • Help at home – meals
  • Help at home – transport
  • Home modifications/safety in the house
  • Planning, linking and support
  • Respite
  • Social/support groups.

Each high-level category displayed as an option in step 1 groups together multiple NHSD service types. 

For example, by selecting counselling, a search is performed across the following NHSD service types:

  • Generalist counselling
  • Health counselling
  • Telephone counselling
  • Drug and/or alcohol counselling

You can find a detailed list of the NHSD service types used for each category on the Carer Gateway service finder categories page.

Step 2 – Who needs help


To help provide more relevant results, in Step 2 ‘Who needs help’, users can define whether the service is required for themselves or the person they care for.

 


The options presented in step 2 will vary based on the selection made in step 1.

For example, a user looking for early childhood intervention services in step 1 will only be able to select from either ‘person with physical disability’ or ‘person with cognitive disability’ in step 2.

Step 3 – your location


In step three ‘Your location’, users must choose the area they are located in.

 

How are search results displayed?


The Carer Gateway service finder returns results on three separate tabs – ‘Services nearby’, ‘Home visits’ and ‘Online & phone’.

Services nearby


The first tab displays only organisations which provide services from a physical location.

The results are ordered according to the geographical distance between the centre of the postcode provided in step 3, and the address of the service, with the closest shown first.

 

Home visits


The second tab lists organisations that provide services within the home of the service recipient. Only organisations which have a coverage area that includes the post code selected in step 3 will be displayed.

Coverage is stored in the NHSD as a list of postcodes, states or as national.

The results within the home visits tab are displayed in a randomised order, with results actively shuffled each time a new search is performed.

 

Online & phone


The third tab lists organisations that provide virtual services via online or phone. Only organisations that have a coverage area that includes the post code selected in step 3 will be displayed.

Coverage is stored in the NHSD, as a list of postcodes, states or as national.

The results within the ‘Online & phone’ tab are displayed in a randomised order, with results actively shuffled each time a new search is performed.

 

Last reviewed: April 2016

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