Carer Support

If you are juggling work with caring for family or friends you are not alone – there are three million working carers in the UK. 

A carer is anyone who looks after a family member, a partner or a friend who needs help because of their illness, frailty, disability, a mental health problem or an addition and cannot cope without this additional support.

Caring responsibilities can be thrust upon many of us during our lives, and sometimes this can be unexpected and happen very quickly. 6,000 people become a carer in the UK every day.

Getting help
Caring can be hard work – physically and emotionally. Caring for loved ones can express the very best of who we are, but it can also push us to the brink through emotional, financial and practical strain.  It’s important to find out about the different help and support you can get with caring.

Local Authority Assessment: One way to get help and support is through an assessment by the local authority and social services department. Both you and the person/s you are looking after can get an assessment.  You can have an assessment no matter what your level of need, the amount of care you provide, or your financial means.

This may result in help and support being provided to you as the carer, or the person you are caring for, to support independence and ease the pressures.

Minor home adaptations up to the value of £1,000 can be provided free of charge through your local authority assessment if they consider that the person you are caring for requires such adaptations.

Even if you are not considered to be eligible for support the local authority must provide you with information and advice on local services to prevent your needs from developing further.

For more information:

• www.careinfoscotland.scot
• www.sharedcarescotland.org.uk
• www.shetlandcarers.org, (you can e-mail carers@shetland.org)
• www.carersuk.org/scotland
• www.shetland.gov.uk

Purchase additional help: You may decide to buy in help for the person you are looking after, One option would be to employ an individual or use a care provider such as a care agency. If you are interested in looking into these kinds of services you could;

• Ask your local authority for a list of approved care providers
• Search on the Care Inspectorate
• Search on the Which? Later Life Directory co.uk/later-life-care/careservices-directory

Equipment & Technology: You could find out about equipment and technology that could help. As well as providing more independence for the person you are looking after, it could make the home safer and your life easier.  For example unobtrusive monitoring devices, communication devices, and remote health monitoring. Find out more at https://www.carersuk.org/help-and-advice/technology-and-equipment

Look after your health & wellbeing
Caring for someone can be a full time job, so breaks are vital to your own wellbeing and quality of life. As carers, we have immediate needs such as sleep, eating properly and rest. We also have long term needs such as building relationships, perusing hobbies and achieving at our work goals.

Caring always involves an element of putting our own needs aside. However it is important that we look after ourselves too, so that we can keep going as carers, and also because we are individuals whose needs are just as valid as those of our loved ones.

Stress:  can alert us to potential dangers and spur us on to achieve a goal. However, sometimes the balance tips too far and the pressure becomes so intense or persistent that we feel unable to cope. As soon as we notice it’s getting too much, it’s helpful to talk about how we are feeling rather than hoping it will go away.

Take a moment:  to think about how you are feeling. Are you worried about anything? How do you feel physically? Do you have a balance between work, caring and your social needs? Do you need a break?

Tailored support: It isn’t the easiest thing to do, but please speak to your line manager if you have caring responsibilities so that they can ensure that you get the tailored support YOU need.  

As anyone who has ever had caring responsibilities will tell you, it is a unique journey. One that we can’t write a ‘managerial flow chart’ or ‘bullet pointed guidance’ for. Arrange to meet with your line manager to discuss your situation. Sometimes just to know that someone understands is enough to ease that pressure a little bit, although your line manager will be able to signpost you to all the help and support that the Trust has to offer such as the staying well service, peer supporters and any relevant policy that may be useful to you.

This could also be a really good time to discuss what kind of situations you may face as a carer to help their understanding;

• There may be periods where you have very little sleep
• Why you may not be interested in career progression at the moment
• Requirement to regularly attend treatment or care
• Situation where you may need to leave work with little or no notice

Getting advice and info
Caring can be extremely complicated, whether grappling with the benefits system, speaking with professionals or trying to understand a condition. Each strand is confusing but when all strands are tangled it can be overwhelming.

Looking after someone will often involve dealing with several different professionals. When we feel a professional has not explained things clearly, doesn’t see the whole picture or you are unsure of they are doing what they should do, it can be hard to peak up. But that is exactly what we should do, and this starts with valuing ourselves and our caring role.

You could find out if you have a local carer’s organisation, and if so, what support they offer to carers in your area. To find your local carers organisation visit carersuk.org/localsupport

There are a range of national organisations that can provide help; we have listed some of these below: