As thousands of carers prepare to look after someone this Christmas, Healthwatch Newcastle and Newcastle Carers have partnered together to understand the experiences and needs of the region’s hidden army of carers during the pandemic.
Newcastle Carers, a local independent charity provides a range of free practical services and holistic support to those looking after someone who is ill, disabled, has mental health problems or is misusing drugs or alcohol. Despite the difficulties encountered during lockdown, they continued to provide much needed support and advice.
Working with Healthwatch Newcastle, an independent not-for-profit organisation who gathers and represents the views and experiences of users of local health and social care services, a survey has been commissioned so that feedback provided by carers and those that they care for, can be presented to funders, providers, and commissioners to drive service improvements.
Healthwatch Newcastle Operations Manager Phill Capewell is urging carers to share their experiences so that improvements can be made, and a better picture obtained of how extra help and support can be given.
“We’re asking all carers to spend a few minutes filling in our survey about their experiences as a career, the experiences of the person they care for, and how and where they have accessed information and support during the pandemic. The information we receive will be invaluable and will help to improve services in the city,” he said.
One carer who has completed the survey is Bill Robinson from Byker whose wife Patricia was diagnosed with dementia in 2015 after being involved in a road traffic accident.
“In the early days every day was a learning day but with help from Newcastle Carers and other people in a similar situation to me, I have learnt how to manage and know help is at hand if I need it,” he said.
When the pandemic struck, Bill felt that he was one of the lucky ones as his wife didn’t need any specialist care or medicines at the time and they were able to enjoy the good weather in their garden.
“Lockdown was frustrating because we used to do a lot of socialising such as eating out or going for a drink together. Patricia was a little bit anxious asking why we couldn’t go into pubs, and I had to reinforce the message that we were in lockdown. I’ve also had help from our family and Newcastle Carers were available online and by phone when I needed them. I do know however from talking to other carers that not everyone was as lucky as us so I would ask every carer to share their stories by filling in the survey as it will help others in our position,” said Bill.
Chief Executive Officer of Newcastle Carers; Edward Gorringe explained how his team had helped to keep an as near normal service during lockdown:
“We’ve been here throughout the pandemic but like everyone we had to change our methods of contact. Our Carers Information Line for people to contact us via the telephone remained open during the pandemic to provide information and support to carers and we’ve also moved to online support too. The methods may be different to face to face but the support and advice we give remains unchanged, “he said. “The more people who respond to our survey, the better the data will be that we can give to our funding partners so that improvements can be made to help carers do the very difficult jobs that they do.
With Christmas just around the corner Bill is looking forward to a quiet day with wife Patricia.
“Since we got married, we’ve always had a peaceful Christmas Day. Boxing Day is family day but on the 25th we love to be on our own with a nice dinner, a good film, and a few quiet drinks. It’s bliss and it’s a day for us both to recharge our batteries.”
Your feedback will help to improve your services in Newcastle. Take the survey at www.surveymonkey.co.uk/r/Newcastlecarers21
The survey takes around 15 minutes to complete. You could win one of three £50 cash prizes as a thank you for taking part.
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Photo: Left to Right: Carer Bill Robinson, with Newcastle Carer team members Lisa Mollett and Edward Gorringe.
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