Important Resources All Carers Should Know About

Ahead of Carers Week this June, we detail some important resources that unpaid carers looking after a loved one can use to get a little extra support.

What is Carers Week?

Ran each year, Carers Week is designed to shed light on the challenges faced by unpaid carers, celebrate their amazing contributions, and support them by giving them access to much-needed carers resources.

This year, Carers Week takes place from 6-12^th June, with the theme of ‘making caring Visible, Valued and Supported.’

Because it’s a theme we care about dearly here at Bluebird Care Gosport, we decided to put together our own list of important resources all carers should know about. We hope you find them helpful.

What support can a carer get?

From financial support to help with everyday expenses to ways for carers to connect with other people in their situation, there is plenty of support for carers out there. These are some of the most helpful resources we know about.

1. Financial aid

Some of the most important things to know about as a home carer are your rights to carer's allowance and universal credit.

Carer’s Allowance is £69.70 a week if you care for someone unassisted for 35 hours or more.

Standard Universal Credit amounts are:

• £265.31 a month if you’re aged under 25 and single
• £334.91 a month if you’re aged 25+ and single
• £416.45 a month if you’re in a couple and both aged under 25
• £525.72 a month if you’re in a couple where one or both of you is aged over 25.

The good news is you can claim both carer's allowance and universal credit at the same time. You may also be able to pay for several other benefits.

For more information on carer's allowance and universal credit plus other benefits, see the following pages:

• Carer's Allowance page at HMRC
• Universal Credit page at HMRC
• Money and Benefits page at Carers Trust
• Financial Support for Carers at Age UK

Additionally, did you know that you or the person you care for may be eligible for grants and discounts? One of them could even help with your TV license! For more information, visit the grants and discounts page at Carers Trust.

2. Training

Many unpaid carers find themselves thrust into the role without expecting it, and don’t have any formal training. The good news is there is an easy way to change that.

E-learning courses have become far more commonplace in recent years, with the pandemic accelerating brands’ abilities to deliver professional learning through digital platforms. Here at Bluebird Care Gosport, we offer our own e-learning course to our carers, and taking some basic healthcare training is something we’d recommend to unpaid carers too.

If you think you could benefit from that, check out Carers UK’s online training for carers page which offers access to both paid and free carer resources.

3. Support groups for carers

Another excellent carers resource offered by Carers UK is its support page. There you can find online meetups that function like a support group for carers. The charity also offers a listening support service to help you through the harder times looking after your friend or loved one. Similarly, Carers Trust also has a page dedicated to helping you connect to other carers anywhere in the country.

Feeling heard, seen and understood is important for everyone, especially when you do a job as demanding as unpaid caring, where your loved one’s condition might mean you can at times feel a little unappreciated by them. So it’s great that people have these particular carers resources to help them connect to people who understand what it’s like.

4. Looking after your health

Caring for a loved one can prove challenging for both your mental and physical health. It’s important to look after both, but finding the time can prove immensely tricky. And even if you can, where do you begin?

Handily, our very own blog has some carer resources you might find helpful. They include:

• Enjoying Your Respite Care Break
• Mental Health Matters
• Stress Awareness: From Coping to Thriving
• Important Health Tests to Take as you Grow Older

Meanwhile, our friends over at Bluebird Care Worthing offer some similarly helpful tips, with their article on Self-Care Tips for Mental Health Awareness Week particularly pertinent for unpaid carers.

Additionally, the Carers Trust website also offers a wealth of wellbeing information, while the Carers Week website has a ‘looking after yourself’ section with helpful links that will also be worth a look.

5. Getting around

When you’re a carer, getting your loved one out and about can prove a challenge – particularly if they aren’t entirely able-bodied or steady on their legs. Thankfully, Carers Trust has an ‘out and about’ page pointing you towards carers resources to help with just that problem. It includes advice on:

• Finding accessible toilets
• Applying for the blue badge parking scheme
• And joining the motability scheme
• Plus potential carers travel discounts on public transport.

6. Caring for certain conditions

There are all kinds of conditions that people need care for, and knowing how to approach a person with one of them can make a big difference.

Here at Bluebird Care Gosport, we’ve covered two such topics in our blog, with articles on caring for someone with hepatitis and avoiding carer's fatigue when caring for someone with dementia. Similarly, our friends at Bluebird Care Worthing have covered caring for someone with a disability, a primer on Alzheimer’s, and some common myths and misconceptions about clinically diagnosed dementia.

Additionally, Carers Trust also has some comprehensive carers resources for different conditions, including:

• Caring for someone with dementia or Alzheimer’s
• Caring for someone with a learning disability
• Caring for someone with substance misuse issues.
• And caring for someone with mental health challenges.

7. Finding carers services near you

The last of our important resources all carers should know about offers a way for you to find carers services in your area. You might use them to get a much-needed respite care break every once in a while. Or you might find your loved one has reached a stage where they need regular professional round the clock care. Either way, you can find homecare services near you via Carers Trust, or use the NHS homecare services locator to find, care home, shared lives, supported living and homecare services.

Need care in the Gosport area? Get in touch

Of course, if you live in the Gosport area, then by visiting our website you’re already in the perfect place for home care. To learn more about what we offer, visit our domiciliary care page, or get in touch to find out how we can help you as a home carer.

Considering making care your career?

Many of our care assistants started out as home carers for a loved one and found they loved it so much that they wanted to make their entire career about it. If you feel similarly, then we’re always on the lookout for people with the caring bone in their body.

See our Bluebird Care Gosport careers page for our current open roles.

 

Related posts

• Learning At Work Week: What Carers’ Training Looks Like
• Enjoying Your Respite Care Break
• Stress Awareness: From Coping to Thriving
• Avoiding Carer's Fatigue When Caring for Someone with Dementia
• Mental Health Matters