Caring 4 All: supporting carers in our community
Today (30 January) is Young Carers Awareness Day, an annual event organised by Carers Trust. We are supporting this day by shining a spotlight on some of the great work being done by adult social care services that support and consider carer needs of all ages.
Below is a blog written by Jan Moon, Registered Manager at Caring 4 All in Hailsham, who goes above and beyond for carers in her community.
Today is Young Carers day and for me it is a fantastic opportunity to celebrate carers of all ages and to tell you a little bit more about what we do to support carers in our community.
I manage a domiciliary care agency called Caring 4 All, which provides care to older people and people with physical disabilities, we focus on supporting people through end of life and to die comfortably in their own homes.
We all have an ethos at Caring 4 All to go above and beyond to support not only the people we care for but their relatives and carers too.
When a diagnosis of end of life care comes, it can be a very rushed and bewildering time for relatives and carers, with so much going on, sometimes they just don’t know where to turn. This is where I see our important role, to be the support they need through that difficult time.
I approached one of our experienced colleagues and asked if they would be interested in a new role of Client Liaison Officer to help assist the families and carers of the people who use our service. The role has been running successfully for one year and is going from strength to strength. Debbie, our Client Liaison Officer, has become vital to many in the community. Our aim is to ensure someone is there to help carers through the end of life journey, right from diagnosis, through to their loved one passing and beyond.
As a team we all try to attend the funerals, but Debbie will always be there, a friendly face for relatives and carers.
Debbie pops in over the weeks to make sure relatives and carers are OK. She has a cup of tea with them, makes sure they are eating, have got enough food in and are starting to make connections back into the community.
It can be such an isolating time when suddenly the bed domineering the lounge goes, the hospital visits end, and the nurses stop coming in, there is a danger of people becoming very lonely. We make sure they get out, even to the local garden centre, and suggest groups they can join.
The team are proud of the role that we play to make the lives of the amazing relatives and carers in our community that little bit easier, if any of us have a spare hour we will pop in for a chat — a cheerful face and listening ear to guide carers through a dark time.
