Carers' Week Information and Awareness Event

June proved to be a busy month with our Carers' Week Information and Awareness Event that I first mentioned in May.  About 12 charities and organisations were on hand to help provide advice and information to carers and other members of the public.

Some of the many stands and displays at the event

At 11 o'clock we welcomed Ali Troughton, accompanied by her husband David, as our Guest Speaker. Gathered round the coffee tables,

Ali Troughton reads from The Selfish Pigs Guide to Caring

Anita offers Anne a free handmassage

Ali read two excerpts to us from The Selfish Pig's Guide to Caring by Hugh Marriot, including one which described a carer's four hour marathon, trying to get her husband out of the bath when he fell. The readings sparked some lively and useful discussion about carers, caring and disability and the varying attitudes of people who have and have not had experience of these issues.
In a small Carer Wellbeing section, Anita Swetman from Tranquil Beauty in Wellesbourne offered free hand massages and was kept busy all morning!

May meeting - Coping with Memory Loss

The group held its monthly meeting on Friday 24^th May. After a much needed time for coffee and chat, a warm welcome was extended to Wendy Harkness from the Alzheimers Society, together with her colleague Sharon Donnelly, to talk on the subject of “Coping with Memory Loss”.

The subject drew excellent attendance.  Wendy’s informative talk explained in simple terms about the different parts of the brain and what happens in the most common of the hundred different types of dementia. She explained some of the many symptoms that patients experience and how their every day lives can be affected. Inevitably, as the majority of carers attending the meeting looked after some with dementia, ideas for how to cope with these symptoms were high on the ‘wanted’ list and much anecdotal evidence, shared by both Wendy and carers, provided very practical advice.  The discussion that followed also made it clear just how important it is to make everyone aware of the symptoms of dementia, not just those who are affected by it.

Useful links on the subject of dementia:

What is dementia:  http://www.alzheimers.org.uk/site/scripts/documents.php?categoryID=200360

Living with dementia: http://www.alzheimers.org.uk/site/scripts/documents.php?categoryID=200342

Caring for a person with dementia: http://www.alzheimers.org.uk/site/scripts/documents.php?categoryID=200343

Carers Week - June 10th - 16th

Carers 4 Carers is holding an information and awareness event as their contribution towards Carers Week.
The theme of Carers Week this year is Prepared to Care? and asks the general public to consider whether they could cope with a caring role, especially if it happened suddenly to them.
Our event will take place on Saturday 15th June between 10a.m. and 1 p.m. at Kineton Methodist Church Hall. A number of organisations and charities will be available to talk to the general public about what support they can offer to those who care.

There will be refreshements and also some little carer 'treats', such as a short free hand massage.

Planning is still taking place but to date, organisations taking part include:

Shipston Home Nursing
Lifeline
Parkinson's UK
Age UK
Think Jessica
Independent Age
Tranquil Beauty, Wellesbourne
Tai Chi - Anne Waldon

Our May Meeting - Friday May 24th

Our next meeting looks at the problems facing carers when trying to look after those who experience memory loss.

Our visiting speaker will be Wendy Harkness, the Dementia Support Manager from the Alzheimers Society. Wendy will take us through the various symptoms of dementia and suggest strategies for coping for carers. There will be lots of opportunities to ask questions that arise out of the talk.

The meeting takes place at Kineton Methodist Church Hall as usual and starts with coffee and chat at 10.30 a.m.

This is part of the article that has been published in local newspapers hot on the heels of a very successful meeting attended by our MP, Jeremy Wright.

"The  needs of carers in rural areas were top of the agenda when local MP Jeremy Wright visited a new support group in Kineton.

A record turn-out of the Carers4Carers group on Friday (March 22) heard what the Government aims to do to make life less difficult for them and was then invited to raise issues which would provide feedback for the policymakers.

Mr Wright, the MP for Kenilworth and Southam, said: “The bill is what it says – a draft- and it is important that we listen to the views of people who are actually doing the caring so we can tailor what we do to help them as best we can.

 “The Government recognizes that if it can help carers to help people stay in their own homes for longer that will save the taxpayer billions of pounds in residential care costs.”

And Mr Wright was quick to acknowledge that carers in rural areas often faced additional problems because of isolation or remoteness.

He added: “People in rural communities are also less inclined to identify themselves as carers because they are more willing to accept caring as part of their family or community responsibility. But they need help for their own sake and we need to train GPs in rural areas to identify this and trigger the particular support they need.”

It's the Farmers' Market in Kineton tomorrow so I'm taking advantage of  it by having a stall in the Methodist Church Hall across the road. I shall have an information stand but also I'll be raising funds by selling handmade cards and biscuits.
Last week I started the Slimming World Slimathon which lasts 6 weeks. I'm doing this to try to boost my weight loss and also raise funds for Carers 4 Carers. The first week was not good.  My choir held a tea concert - The Mad Hatter's Tea Party - so not only was I making cakes, but also I defy anyone not to have a nibble from the huge array on display during the interval!  Very focussed this week!

We held our first meeting of the new year on a bitterly cold day - January 25th. Unfortunately the weather took its toll on attendance, some carers being unable to travel and others hit by illness. However, though we were few, it was a useful meeting. Amanda, cheerful as ever, came laden with freebies and piles of information.  Two topics in particular engendered lively discussion.

Amanda talked about the length of time it can take to access help from the social services and how she can help by guiding the carer through the sort of questions that will be asked during a telephone assessment for care. It was alarming to learn that it can take 10 months to reach the top of the list for help and even in a critical situation two months is not unusual.

The other topic concerned assistive technology and how a simple camera for £36 can be set up in a room and linked to a computer so that the carer can see at all times that their cared-for person is all right through their computer, tablet or phone. The freedom this can give the carer is immense and the fact that it can be done so cheaply is a real bonus. I am now pursuing an opportunity for carers to learn more about assistive technology and one of our meetings later in the year.

Various websites were mentioned that carers might find useful in their search for support and information and here are links to two of them:

http://www.carersuk.org/ - the national organisation for carer support
www.carewelluk.org -a joint organisation set up by Carers UK and Bupa to provide health support for carers.

Both websites are invaluable resources for information and contain lots of tips and strategies for coping which have come from the experiences of other carers. Additionally both websites have forums so if you have a topic you want to discuss or you can't find the answer to a question, this may be a good avenue to pursue.

Sadly one of our members lost her mother just before Christmas. I do hope the opportunity to talk about the days leading up to her mother's death and her loss helped. This emphasises how important it is that we support people who have spent a lot of time caring and now longer do so. They, in turn, when they feel able, will be able to offer a great deal to the group by sharing what they have learnt from their experiences.
As I write, the sun has eventually come out, the crocuses and snowdrops are poking up in the garden and it just goes to show how a bit of brightness can make you feel better.

If you can, try to enjoy a brisk walk in the sunshine and see how much better you feel after it.

Best wishes.