Category Archives: family

Why don’t they listen to what carers have to say?

May 15, 2013   Carers, disability, family, health, Older care

True integration involves the NHS, local councils and families

Families are the biggest providers of care, yet carers can find themselves cut out of decision-making and bounced between different bureaucracies

Norman Lamb and Heléna Herklots
Guardian Professional, Wednesday 15 May 2013 08.30 BST

The 6.5 million carers in the UK providing unpaid care to their loved ones outnumber all NHS and social care staff put together.

Caring is a fact of life. Whether a partner falls ill, or a parent needs support as they grow older, or a child is born with a disability – it will affect us all at some point.

At times like these, families pull together to support each other. But too often they find that the services there to support them don’t do the same.

Read More

Kinship carers are living in poverty

April 16, 2013   Carers, disability, family

Kinship carers ‘unable to afford basic necessities’

Parent walking with two children The report found carers generally prioritized the children’s needs over their own

About a third of relatives looking after children because their parents are no longer able to can afford to provide basic items, a study has found.

The report, by children’s charity Buttle UK, looked at 80 children who are looked after by family members outside of child welfare agencies.

Only 31% of families could provide all eight basic essential items, like heating and warm clothes.

Each child raised in kinship care saves the taxpayer up to £56,000 a year.

The report is the second of a two-part study into kinship care carried out by Buttle UK and the University of Bristol.

Read More

Free respite holidays for disabled people and their families

April 11, 2013   Carers, disability, family

Papworth Trust is offering free respite holidays to disabled people and their families at Kerry Farm in Wales, thanks to a £2 million grant from the Big Lottery Fund.

Typical respite is where the disabled person goes away while their family stays at home. The Trust’s respite holidays are unique because they offer a chance for the whole family to together have a supported break, without the pressures of everyday life.

Luke and his mum Jane

Luke and his mum Jane

Papworth Trust ran a pilot for this new service, shown on Channel 4 documentary The Secret Millions. 19-year-old Luke from Peterborough took part in the pilot with his parents Chris and Jane. Luke has Down’s Syndrome and was quite shy at first. Since the respite holiday he has become much more independent, taking part in local amateur dramatics and setting his sights on a role in EastEnders one day.

Luke’s Dad Chris saw some real changes from the respite holiday. He said: “I thought Luke was going to struggle but he just took to everything. He amazed me. I think it proved to us that Luke can do things that we didn’t think he could, and perhaps sometimes we were holding him back slightly. We can now let him go that little bit more.”

Mum Jane said: “It was such a benefit having more quality time together – normally Luke just has respite on his own. It’s really brought the family close together. Anybody that gets the opportunity will have a fantastic time.”

Adrian Bagg, Papworth Trust’s Chief Executive, said: “At Papworth Trust we understand the impact disability can have. It can be hard to have quality, stress free time together as a family. Disabled people and their families can now apply for free respite holidays thanks to the Big Lottery Fund. The pilot shown in The Secret Millions was an amazing experience for the families involved. It is fantastic that Papworth Trust will now be able to offer that farm experience to disabled people of any age, wherever they come from in the UK. We’re renovating a 16th century farmhouse in a beautiful part of Wales and we will be able to start welcoming families from autumn this year.”

Read More