Thursday 21st November is Carers’ Rights Day, which this year focuses on recognising your rights as a carer.
Caption: Carers are offered treatments such as massages and reflexology at Phyllis Tuckwell’s pamper days.
Being a carer can be difficult, and it can be hard to know what support is available or where to look for it. Local charity Phyllis Tuckwell provides palliative and end of life care for people living with an advanced or terminal illness, such as cancer. It also offers individual and group sessions to support the emotional, physical and practical needs of the carers of its patients, too.
Phyllis Tuckwell’s weekly carer support drop-in sessions, held at the Beacon Centre in Guildford, provide carers with access to information on topics such as carer assessments, respite breaks, and benefits and entitlements. It runs a six-week online carers programme which covers a different topic each week, including resources for carers, managing relationships, and coping strategies. It also runs a monthly drop-in coffee afternoon for carers, so that they can meet in person, share their experiences of being a carer and find peer support. At its regular carer pamper days, carers can indulge in treatments such as massages and reflexology, as well as haircuts, makeovers and manicures. Self-care such as this is so important when someone is looking after a loved one, and taking some time out can really help to reduce carers’ anxiety and stress levels, and promote wellbeing.
One-to-one advice and counselling are also available from Phyllis Tuckwell’s Patient & Family Support team, for those who would like to talk to someone in confidence or ask questions about a specific matter. The team can give practical advice on matters such as applying for benefits and entitlements, choosing a care home and finding out about funding. Caroline, one of our patient & family support advisors, helped Chris, the son of one of our patients, when he needed help finding the right care home for his mum, Gillian.
“It was quite a stressful time,” Chris said. “There was a lot of new stuff coming at us and we didn’t really know how to deal with it all. Caroline was brilliant. She gave me a lot of information about care homes, and about the grants and funding that Mum was eligible for.”
“I visited Gillian at her care home a couple of times,” said Caroline. “It was lovely to meet her face-to-face and give that extra level of support. It’s such a privilege to be with families at this emotional and precious time; I find it very rewarding.”
If you would like to find out more about the carer support that the charity offers, please contact its Patient & Family Support team on 01252 729430 or email pafs@pth.org.uk
All our services are free, but this is only possible due to the generosity of our amazing community. The Government/NHS only provide 25% of our costs, so we need to raise over £25,000 every day to provide our vital services.
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