Dear <<First name>>,
We send our monthly e-newsletter, iCare, to keep you informed of news about family carers and let you know highlights of our work supporting young and adult carers. There's been a lot in the press about adult social care of relevance to carers.
Do let us know if you don't want to get it; that is fine. You can unsubscribe at the bottom of this page. Even better, tell us what you’d like included to stay subscribed.
Please forward this e-newsletter to any colleagues who might be interested and they can sign-up to receive iCare themselves on our website.
Yours sincerely,
Helen Brown
Chief Executive
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Crisis in health and social care
There have been a series of reports about the “crisis” in health and social care released ahead of the Chancellor’s Autumn Statement. Most will impact on unpaid family carers.
A recent article by the Political Studies Association also report on this in the context of gender inequality and human rights and because women have been disproportionately impacted by tax and benefit changes too. The report highlights that there are a million pensioners with care needs which are not being met by any public source.
Women 'are expected to fill the gap when the state fails old or sick relatives'
Women are bearing the brunt of the care crisis as they are expected to step in to fill the gap when the state fails to provide services needed by an old or sick relative. There are now a million pensioners with care needs which are not being met by any public source, warns a major new study by the Political Studies Association Commission on Care. A triple whammy of a rising level of needs, low pay and poor conditions for care workers and an increasing reliance on unpaid carers means the social care system is at breaking point.
The crisis of care in Britain is largely discussed in terms of rising costs of care to the state, but rarely in terms of the costs to those engaged in doing this work. Low pay and poor conditions of work for those engaged in care work is a major concern, as is the wellbeing of those in their care. Since a major share of care is performed by family members, including grandparents, attention must be given to unpaid as well as paid care work. Unpaid care work is increasingly seen as a human rights issue and its recognition an essential step towards achieving gender equality.
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Three Carers Trust Cambridgeshire staff shortlisted for East of England Region Care Awards
We are incredibly proud of three of our staff at Carers Trust Cambridgeshire who have been shortlisted for the East of England Great British Care Awards which celebrates excellence across the care sector. The results will be announced at a gala dinner at the Guildhall, Cambridge on Tuesday, 29 November.
Rebecca Browne and Ruth Young, both Carer Support Officers, were nominated for the Putting People First/Personalisation Award in recognition of their work with a woman who became exhausted and struggled as the main care giver for her husband, an amputee, as she was also looking after their two young children. Read Emma's story.
Sadie Andrews (pictured centre), our Registered Manager for supporting people in their own home, has been shortlisted for the Home Care Registered Manager Award. She manages our professional, fully trained care workers in Cambridgeshire, Peterborough and Norfolk to support adults and older people with disability, including those who have dementia and are frail or have cancer or need palliative care.
We seek to develop the individual potential of each staff member so that they excel in a role they love. In our last staff survey, every staff member said they were proud to work here.
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Carers Rights Day, 25 November 2016
Staff in Cambridgeshire and Peterborough are busy preparing for the annual Carers Rights Day campaign on 25 November by holding a number of events throughout the region.
We are telling care givers, “it’s vital you have the right information at the right time to prevent some of the harmful impacts of caring on you and your family.”
Carers like Emma, who told us:
“I wasn’t used to asking for help, not even from my family, but I knew I had to do something,” said Emma Joy-Staines, who felt increasingly desperate and exhausted as care giver for husband Leigh.
You can read Emma's poignant story and the difference we made to her life.
From the Carer's Allowance and Personal Independent Payment, to Council Tax reduction and help with fuel costs, as well as rights for caregivers to request flexible working, we can inform family carers about the rights and benefits available to help them; we know they can suffer financial hardship while caring for someone.
Crucially, this information is not just available now, it’s available from us every day, just as carers continue their caring duties on a daily basis. We want to make family carers aware about this so we can help them when they most need it.
For further information about Carers Rights Day, including the venues where we will be holding information stands, please see our website.
Carers Rights Day will be marked in Norfolk with the launch of a Norfolk Guide to Assessment for Young Carers and their families.
Special guests attending the launch include North Norfolk MP Norman Lamb Lamb, a former Care Minister, as well as partners from across Norfolk and Professor Jo Aldridge, a leading academic on young carers. It is being held 4-6pm at the Costessy Centre, Norwich.
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Quality of Care in Rural Norfolk
Our CEO Dr Helen Brown spoke on the Quality of Care in Rural Norfolk, explaining issues and outlining her vision for the strategic delivery of care and way forward.
Organised by Norfolk Rural Support Network with the aim to identify and address issues important to Norfolk's rural communities, the seminar highlighted the challenges of delivering a carer service in a rural areas.
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Peterborough highlights of our amazing work
Carers Trust Peterborough based at Thorpe Hall has been working tirelessly to support unpaid family carers of all ages.
As we are in our 3rd year of delivering the contract, it seems an opportune time to highlight some of the amazing work that this relatively small team does.
After holding the contract since July 2014, our team has never failed to exceed Peterborough City Council’s (PCC) contracted targets. There is a good relationship between Carers Trust Peterborough and PCC Adult and Children’s Services and communication is frequent and meaningful. So much so that the PCC are now looking to us to help deliver more, in line with carers and PCC needs.
Highlights from the last quarters submission is inclusive but not exhaustive of:
- 114 referrals for support from Young Carers/Young Adult Carers & Adults services.
- 2 schools achieving a bronze and silver award through 'Young Carers in Schools'
- Presence at schools, colleges, events at Peterborough City Hospital and the Department of Work and Pensions
- The development of 4 Carers Hubs is in progress
- Increase in partnership working and signposting
- Hosting Carers Trust Cambridgeshire/Peterborough's very successful AGM this year
This is against a backdrop of increasingly complex referrals from the wide demographic of Peterborough and more information advice and guidance being sought.
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Get involved and make your views count!
 Carers Trust Cambridgeshire holds the Information Standard quality mark, which identifies us as an accredited provider of quality health and social care information.
A key part of achieving high quality and relevant information is to involve the target audience in developing it. We do this by asking people to review, comment and input their ideas on the draft versions. This is where you come in…
Would you like to have a voice in ensuring the high quality of the publications we produce?
We’d love to hear your views. There is no pressure – you need only take part when it’s convenient for you.
You can help us make our publications better for you!
If you’d like to get involved or want to find out more, please contact the Communications team on 01480 499090 or email comms@carerstrustcambridgeshire.org.
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Did you know?
- A staggering 1.2 million older people in England are living with some level of unmet care needs, with 0.7 million not receiving any help at all, from either paid carers or family and friends.
- Two in five (41%) residents in UK independent care homes are now paying the full cost of their own care – a big increase in the last 10 years. Self-funders now on average pay between £603 and £827 a week depending on the area, compared to councils paying between £421 and £624 a week.
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