Tag: Carers Week

City carers champion: ‘vital that carers are looked after’

carers_week

Edinburgh’s first ‘Carers Champion’ Councillor Norman Work marked his inaugural year in the role by setting out the capital’s priorities for supporting people who give unpaid care to family or friends.

Councillor Work launched the City of Edinburgh Council’s Joint Carers Strategy 2014-17 during an event to celebrate national Carers Week.

The Strategy, developed in partnership with NHS Lothian, the voluntary sector and carers, sets out priorities and outcomes for how their valuable work will be supported over the next three years.

It focuses on six priorities:

  • identifying carers;
  • information and advice;
  • health and wellbeing for carers;
  • short breaks and respite;
  • young adult carers;
  • personalised support for carers.

With around 37,859 carers looking after loved ones in Edinburgh, the estimated cost of providing replacement care in the capital is valued at around £771m a year.

Speaking at a celebration event for unpaid carers at the City Chambers, Cllr Work said: “These people do an extraordinary job of looking after a loved one and I cannot over-emphasise how much we value what they do.

“Many do not think of themselves as carers, and often fail to access the services and advice which is available to them through the Council, charities and relevant organisations.

“It is vital that carers, who can be of any age, are looked after, as there is a risk that their health and wellbeing can also suffer because of the stress and pressure caused by their role. The Joint Carer’s Strategy sets out how we plan to do this by building on our existing work.”

Pictured: (l-r) June Anderson, Zahira Hassan, Cllr Norman Work, Sarah Gundry, Calum Gundry amd  Jeanette Scott.

Care in crisis: charities issue wake-up call

carer

All across Scotland a huge but invisible army is caring for increasing numbers of older, ill or disabled loved ones, new research has revealed. The report highlights a crisis of carers struggling without support and huge gaps in national understanding of growing social issue.

Research published to mark Carers Week 2014 (9 – 15 June) reveals worrying public ignorance of the rising call on families to provide unpaid care.

The reality is that 6.5 million people in the UK – 657,000 in Scotland – are already caring for a family member or close friend who is frail or facing long-term illness or disability.

The Carers Week/You Gov poll shows that adults of all ages drastically underestimate the issue, with only a tiny fraction (11%) of Scottish adults correctly stating the true scale of unpaid, family care.

And while numbers across the UK are predicted to rise to 9 million by 2037, most adults don’t think caring will happen to them. Only around a third of adults in Scotland who are currently not carers (35%) believe it likely they will become carers in the future, the survey found.

Speaking on behalf of the nine charities behind Carers Week 2014, Simon Hodgson, Director of Carers Scotland said: “The reality is that all of us, at some point in our lives, will either be carers or need the help of carers. This survey is a wake-up call, clearly and alarmingly showing that as a society we need a much wider understanding of the realities of caring.”

The survey also asked what would be of greatest concern if a loved one did come to need care

Scotland’s Top 3 Caring Worries are revealed as:

1 Money worries – Being unable to cope financially
2 Emotional strain – Finding it too stressful/upsetting
3 I wouldn’t know how – Not having the experience or skills to be a carer

The views of current carers gathered through the same poll, reveal carers across the country are struggling behind closed doors without adequate help. Worryingly, over half (53%) of carers polled across the UK said they were not receiving enough support. Their experiences included:

“My brother cares full time for both my parents. My father’s 91 and unable to walk without assistance. My mother’s 86, has severe dementia and needs help 24/7. I help at weekends and one evening a week. My brother’s spoken to the doctor about care for my mother and was told the dementia nurse has a full case load. He’s contacted a charity who have agreed to help for two hours per week.”

“My daughter has spina bifida and is a full time wheelchair user….. At 60, it can be hard for me to push a manual wheelchair plus carry shopping up a hill. …”

“I have been looking after my disabled wife for 13 years. … I work part time and my physical health is not great and sometimes I feel like I am cracking up.”

Simon Hodgson added:“We need to understand what carers are doing day in and day out, the impact caring can have – and the difference we as individuals and organisations can make. That is why during Carers Week we are calling on the public and professionals across the UK to reach out to carers in their local communities.”

www.carersweek.org

Prepared to care?

Care Information Scotland helps Scots to be ‘Prepared to Care’

The theme for this year’s National Carers Week (June 10 – 16) is ‘Prepared to Care’. It is designed to raise awareness of issues that affect both carers and the people they look after, to highlight the help that is available and to illustrate the impact that caring can have on an individual and the family.

Care Information Scotland is a telephone and web service providing information about care services for older people living inScotland. It is there to help carers when making important decisions about care needs, both now and in the future.

Marcia Rankin, Head of Health & Care Information Services at NHS 24 explains how the service can help: “As National Carers Week highlights, there are many challenges that people face when thinking about caring for someone. If it’s an older relative, friend or neighbour then Care Information Scotland can help with facts about getting care needs assessed, what options there are for providing care at home or alternatives like supported housing and care homes.”

Care InformationScotland also signposts to services and support to help unpaid carers, and an overview of an individuals rights. Marcia Rankin says it’s important that people plan for care needs, understand their options and really do feel ‘prepared to care’: “There are many choices and options to help meet care needs and the more information people have then the better able they are to make the right decisions.

“This information and more is available on www.careinfoscotland.co.ukor if you would prefer to talk to someone, you can call the helpline on 08456 001 001 8am – 10pm seven days a week (calls charges may vary depending on your service provider). Whatever your question about care, Care Information Scotland is a good place to start.”

carer