Carers' Week 2020

'Making Caring Visible' for Carers Week

About Carers Week

Carers Week is an annual campaign to raise awareness of caring, highlight the challenges unpaid carers face and recognise the contribution they make to families and communities throughout the UK.

It also helps people who don’t think of themselves as having caring responsibilities to identify as carers and access much-needed support.

The theme of this year’s campaign is ‘Making Caring Visible’. Many carers feel isolated and that their caring role is hidden. Everyone has a part to play in making sure these carers are seen, heard, and understood; and helping them to get the support they need to care. Whether you’re an employer, a healthcare provider, a business, a neighbour or a friend here are some ways we can all help to make caring visible.

Cathy Woffendin, Director of Nursing, Professions and Quality said: “I feel privileged to work alongside and acknowledge the fantastic carers who unselfishly give their care and commitment to looking after family, friends and loved ones across our services. I would like to give my personal thanks for all their help and support – they really are the unsung heroes and deserve the greatest applause.”

 

A series of blogs, musings and support news for #CarersWeek

We have received contributions from carers, service users, LYPFT services and support workers for #CarersWeek. Find out what it’s like to be a carer of someone with poor mental health or a learning disability.

You can read all the contributions on our blog website page.

Where can carers get help?

If you are helping a friend or family member due to their illness, disability, mental health issue, a substance misuse problem or supporting someone who needs extra help as they grow older, then you are one of 6.5 million people in the UK who are unpaid carers.

You can access information and support on our website including links to local organisations such as Carers Leeds and York Carers Centre.

Carers organisations can:

• provide you with someone to talk to
• inform you of your rights (including advice on welfare benefits)
• help you access a carers assessment
• meet you (at a place and time convenient for you) to talk about your support needs and agree a plan to best meet these needs
• put you in touch with Carers Groups if you would like to meet up with other carers

Take a look at the carers’ activities in York and in Leeds for Carers Week.

Caring challenges during coronavirus

Caring during the pandemic has brought extra stress, worry and anxiety for many carers. This has been highlighted in Healthwatch Leeds’ weekly real time reporting which has recently focused on carers and in Carers UK’s April 2020 survey ‘Caring behind closed doors – forgotten families in the coronavirus outbreak’.

Our Trust services have continued to support and involve carers in a range of ways during the coronavirus health crisis. Our activities have included moving peer support groups online, writing letters and sending thank you cards, helping carers stay in touch through technology and making extra contact via phone.

The Trust has introduced ‘Letters to Loved Ones’ to help family, friends and carers keep in touch with service users on our wards while visiting has been suspended due to the coronavirus infection control measures.

We have also developed a dedicated webpage with resources for parents, dementia carers and for people with a serious mental illness along with materials suitable for those who may have a learning disability.

Helping to make caring visible in our Trust

As a specialist provider of mental health and learning disability services we recognise the essential role carers have to play in the support and recovery of their loved ones.

‘Together’ our new Experience and Involvement Strategy is a 3 year plan which has recently been co-produced together with patients, service users, carers and staff.

Together we will:

• Ensure patients, service users and carers are involved in all aspects of their care
• Develop ways to collect, understand and act on patient, service user and carer feedback
• Develop support services and signpost carers, family and friends of our patients to relevant agencies

The priority identified by carers during the development of the new strategy is detailed below. We are committed to ensuring carers are given an equal voice in the care of service users. To find out more please visit our website.

Carer’s Champions in our Trust

We have staff in each service area taking the lead for supporting carers and helping their team meet the standards set out in the Triangle of Care.

Hafsa Sattar, a Staff Nurse, talks in the film below about why she got involved in becoming a Carers’ Champion at The Newsam Centre and how important carers are in helping staff being able to understand how our service users are feeling – “It’s really important to get their advice and opinions.”