We Carer Lot – new course giving unpaid carers support and information

Guests and carers enjoy the tea, cakes and sunshine at the launch of the new CARE Group at Blackpool Carers Centre.

A new course aimed at giving unpaid carers all the support and information they need to look after a loved one at home has been launched at an afternoon tea event.

The CARE (Carers and Relative Experience) Group has been created by Trinity Hospice in partnership with Blackpool Carers Centre to offer hands-on experience and advice about how to care for someone who is ill, while remaining in their own home.

It was launched during a special event at Beaverbrooks House in June. The programme is the brainchild of Trinity nurse Claire Frith, who wrote a research paper on how services could be improved for unpaid carers.

Claire, who was one of the first nurses for Trinity’s ‘Hospice at Home’ service, said she felt there had been a gap for unpaid carers and a lack of information in the more practical aspects of caring for someone at home. Claire came to know some of those struggles as her own family went through them as they looked after her granddad at home.

She said ‘As a qualified nurse, I was pretty much the first port of call for my family. They were turning to me for advice and help. At one point my nanna had spent an hour trying to change granddad’s bedsheets, frightened she was going to hurt him. When I got there and did it in 10 minutes it made me realise that the little things we do in day to day nursing may be more difficult for less experienced carers. That’s when it came to me about this type of information being available to everyone who might find themselves in a caring position. Something that would give them the knowledge they need and to empower them to take more control.’

The CARE Group will be a rolling programme for Blackpool residents, consisting of six sessions over a three month period. Each session will talk about different topics as well as give practical demonstrations.

Claire added ‘I don’t think people are often aware of how difficult it can be to look after someone at home, and this course will talk about those difficulties. It will help to prepare them and educate them while providing practical skills.’

Amanda Madden, an Adult Carers Support Worker at Blackpool Carers Centre said ‘We’re delighted to partner with Trinity on this exciting venture and proud that our service will be at the hub of this programme. From the point of referral, we can support carers into and through our Adult Carer service, cancer and dementia specific services and also now throughout the course, providing additional aftercare support as required.’

Carers can self-refer through Blackpool Carers Centre or speak to a health care professional, with the first sessions taking place in September. www.blackpoolcarers.org