We’re supporting Carers Rights Day
We are supporting Carers Rights Day on Thursday, November 26. Carers, especially those who are unpaid and looking after family members, need to know their rights and how to get support.
We are always keen to raise awareness of the amount of people out there who are caring for a loved one. Often unpaid, while also having to deal with their own lives and families. It’s important to make sure those who are caring for someone, know what they are entitled to and how they can get help if needed.
In a recent survey carried out by Carers UK, it was revealed that unpaid carers are being pushed to their limits and are worried about winter.
Currently four out of five unpaid carers are providing more care for relatives. Seventy eight percent reported that the needs of the person they care for have increased during the pandemic.
Sixty seven percent worried about how they will cope through further lockdowns or local restrictions.
Know Your Rights
The theme of this year’s Carers Rights Day is ‘Know Your Rights’. The Carers UK charity wants to empower carers with all the information they need. It has produced helpful guides for anyone caring for family or friends. The guides, which include one for people in Wales, outline people’s rights as a carer. They give an overview of practical and financial support available.
We want to offer any help and support to anyone out there who might be struggling. We’re inviting unpaid carers to call us for a friendly and informal chat and to receive any support and professional advice they need.
They can give our offices a call and speak to one of our helpful and friendly carers about their worries or generally just about their caring role. Phone numbers for our branches can be found here.
Our carers and service users
We employ fantastic carers across Wales to look after our service users. We believe it’s extremely important to offer support to them in whatever form they need. If they are finding things particularly stressful, we have members of staff who they can talk to and discuss problems with. We know there are many people out there who are unofficial carers and aren’t paid for the work that they do looking after a family member in their own homes and don’t receive any support.
It is extremely important that a caregiver has their own space away from caring in order to normalise themselves. Even if it’s just the chance to watch TV on their own, have a cuppa or stare out of the window. It’s also important they have social relationships, even if these are just online or via the telephone during the ongoing restrictions, to help them avoid becoming depressed and isolated and to enable them to talk to friends about non-care issues.
They need to make sure they take some time to themselves to have a well-earned rest. Looking after someone can often become physically and emotionally overwhelming. Anyone who cares for a loved-one can call us for free advice on the different ways they can look after themselves and give themselves a break. We also offer respite care too, so people can get a good night’s sleep and a rest from their role, which is in effect a full-time job 24 hours a day.
