Help us on our Quest to reach out to carers in Greater Manchester
Greater Manchester West Mental Health NHS Foundation Trust has been selected to lead the Carers Week Quest in Greater Manchester (Monday 9 to Sunday 15 June 2014). The campaign aims to be the greatest ever drive to reach out to carers.
GMW is calling on individuals and organisations across the North West to sign up to this ground-breaking initiative to reach carers in our area who are missing out on vital support and services.
The very nature of caring - of being there for a loved one facing ill health or disability - means too often people don’t at first, or sometimes ever, identify themselves as carers and, therefore, miss out on support.
Without the right help and support caring can have a devastating impact – carers can quickly become cut off with their physical and emotional health, work and finances all hit hard.
GMW has led the way in their commitment to working with carers by becoming a national NHS demonstrator pilot site for carers where best practice from Bolton was shared locally and nationally to shape the support and information carers receive.
Free courses specifically aimed at carers are being run by the Trust to give people a better understanding of the challenges they may face as a carer and provide them with advice and support to find new ways to tackle them.
The Caring with Confidence course sessions are three hours long and are being held from 10 July to 14 August 2014 at Eccles Gateway, 28 Barton Lane, Eccles, Manchester M30 0TU.
The course is run by GMW’s Recovery Academy. To book your place or find out about upcoming courses visit www.gmmh.nhs.uk/recovery. Alternatively, you can email recoveryacademy@gmmh.nhs.uk or telephone 0161 772 3782.
A carers charter and strategy has also been developed by GMW to set out what carers can expect form the Trust’s staff and services. The Trust has also employed dedicated Carer Support Workers to support carers both practically and emotionally and run carer awareness training for staff.
Tracy Collard, GMW’s CARE Hub Lead and Quest Leader, said: “During Carers Week, GMW is aiming to reach out to 100 carers and make them aware of support and services. We have several coffee mornings planned for carers which will happen simultaneously across our six directorates that cover Bolton, Salford, Trafford, Prestwich and a Drug and Alcohol Service that extends into Cumbria. These events will be facilitated by our Carer Champions and Carer Support Workers across the Trust. For more information, visit www.gmmh.nhs.uk/carer-information.”
Helen Clarke, Carers Week Manager said: “It is fantastic that GMW will lead the Carers Week Quest in Greater Manchester and beyond. By working together during Carers Week with charities, businesses, community groups and public services, we have a huge opportunity to raise the profile of what caring is, who carers are, the impact it has on their lives and to help thousands of people who are missing out on help and support which could make a real difference to their lives. Will you join in and help carers?”
If you can help reach out to carers in Greater Manchester then contact your local Quest Leader on 0161 772 3935 or carers@gmmh.nhs.uk.
For more information visit www.carersweek.org
Notes for Editors
- Carers Week 2014 runs from Monday 9 to Sunday 15 June. Carers Week is an annual UK-wide awareness campaign which takes place to celebrate and recognise the vital contribution made by the UK’s 6.5 million carers. It is also a time of intensive local activity with over 12,000 events planned for carers right across the UK. In 2013 more than 2,600 organisations registered to take part in the campaign.
- Across the UK 6.5 million - 1 in 8 people - are caring for a loved one who is older, disabled, terminally or seriously ill. As the population ages, the number of carers is rising fast.
- The North West has one of the highest numbers of carers in England with 781,972 people providing unpaid care (Office for National Statistics, 2011 Census data, Provision of Unpaid Care in England and Wales, 2011). In the North West, the number of carers has increased by 8% over the last ten years.
- In Greater Manchester there are a reported 280,299 carers, Lancashire has 133,213 and Cambria has 56,495. According to the 2011 Census, 51.8% of carers providing unpaid care in the North West are in employment. 'Provision of unpaid care' covers looking after, giving help or support to family members, friends, neighbours or others because of long-term physical or mental ill-health/disability, or problems related to old age. http://www.carersuk.org/for-professionals/policy/policy-library/2011-census-figures-england-and-wales
- Carers Week is made possible by Carers UK joining forces with Age UK, Carers Trust, Independent Age, Macmillan Cancer Support, Marie Curie Cancer Care, MS Society, Parkinson’s UK, Skills for Care and the Stroke Association.
- Greater Manchester West Mental Health NHS Foundation Trust (GMW) provides district mental health services in Bolton, Salford and Trafford. GMW also provides substance misuse services in Salford, Trafford, Wigan and Leigh, Blackburn with Darwen, Central Lancashire and Cumbria.
- GMW delivers specialist mental health and substance misuse inpatient services throughout Greater Manchester and the wider North.
