Monthly Archives: September 2013
Take good care to look after the carers
Take good care to look after the carers
People who dedicate themselves to looking after their loved ones should ensure they make time for themselves too, says Morag Chisholm
It is no fun being a carer. It is not a role that allows the option “I’ve had enough of this, thank you. Can I do something different now?” There are no happy endings, the cared-for are not going to get better and release is not necessarily relief. Is there a nobility about caring or is it just bloody awful?
The focus here is on the unpaid, private army, which is increasing relentlessly. Two typical scenarios are caring for a partner and caring for a parent who is slipping into dementia. These roles can have profound effects on the caring individuals concerned and on their relationships.
It is not necessary to actually live with a person to assume the caring role. Although my mother, frail and old, lived 300 miles away with paid carers looking after her, I always had an ear half cocked for that telephone call, the summons, the crisis. And when I was with her, as holiday cover, I was always alert, cat-napping, hurrying back from shopping just in case. I learned something of what caring must be like as an all-day, every day, experience. I am not sure I could do it.
Moving talk praised unpaid carers
Plympton ‘Moving On’ Stroke Club
A presentation was given by John McKenna and Sarah Moore from The Guild (Carers Hub).
John passed around a quiz on carers. One fact from the quiz was that there is thought to be around 27000 carers in the Plymouth area and the estimated value of unpaid caring support in the UK is a staggering £115 billion.
We were advised of a service provided by the Red Cross – a massage for hands, arms and shoulders to help relieve some of those stresses and strains.
Lowestoft care hub will help older carers find jobs
A disability charity has launched a new centre for the Lowestoft area
A disability charity has launched a new centre for the Lowestoft area which will provide support to family carers who would like to start work again.
The Care Hub in London Road South in the Kirkley area will help carers by offering them training and support to help them get back into paid work.
Run by the Papworth Trust, the hub is a free daytime and evening drop-in centre and is aimed at people aged 55 and over and whose caring responsibilities have meant they have had to take a break from work.
Based at the Papworth Trust Waveney Centre, The Care Hub will offer training courses in health and social care, which will feature modules on medication, food hygiene, fire safety and the principles of person-centred care, in a bid to help carers get back into employment.
It will also provide carers with financial advice and information on benefits.