Are You a Carer?
Do you look after someone you love or care about?
If the answer is yes, you may not think about yourself as a carer. This is something we often do without question, for family members or close friends. A carer is defined as anyone who cares for a family member or friend who could not manage without their support for example, supporting someone with a physical disability or long-term health condition, by helping with their shopping, cleaning their home or providing emotional support. The care you provide should be unpaid. At some point in our lives 3 in 5 of us will become a carer. It can happen at any age.
Examples of carers:
- Adult carers – an adult caring for another adult such as a spouse, partner, friend or relative
- Parent carers – an adult who cares for an ill or disabled child
- Young adult carers (age 18- 25) and young carers (up to 17) – a child or young adult who is carrying out significant caring tasks, for example for a family member.
Caring for someone can be rewarding, but it can also be challenging, tiring and isolating. At Southbourne Surgery, we try to support our carers, in conjunction with BCP Carers Support.
For further information please visit the BCP Carers Service (click below)
Get a Break from Caring
It will help you and the person you care for to stay healthy if you get enough rest and a break from each other now and again. There are local day activities for carers, grants available for short breaks and ways to get a longer break if you need it. There is a subsidised service for replacement care if the person that you care for cannot be left alone.
Telephone the carers team on: 01202 458 204
Free Flu Vaccination
Carers are entitled to a free flu vaccination each Autumn, please ask at reception.
Carers Identification Form
Please download and complete the Carers Identification Form; once completed, please hand the first page to a member of Staff
***Dorset Care Services Directory***
We have created a New Page where you can view/download the Dorset Care Services Directory. Please navigate here: Directory
Do you help a family member, friend or neighbour who needs support because the person is:
- Is frail
- Has a long term health condition
- Has a physical disability
- Has a learning disability
- Has a chronic illness
- Has a mental illness that means they need support to cope
- Has a substance misuse problem with drugs or alcohol
Your Doctor needs to know if you are caring for someone. You or the person you care for might need extra support for example if you need to go into hospital for your own needs or you are unwell. Carers have extra health risks for example back and neck injuries, stress related conditions, recurrent viral conditions and nutritional problems.
Help and Support
There is help and support if you are a carer, you can speak to someone about caring by telephoning NHS Carers Direct on 0808 802 0202.
Advisors on the service will call you back if necessary. They speak over 100 different languages.
If you need help with practical tasks of caring, telephone Bournemouth Social Services (Care Direct) on 01202 454 979. You are entitled to a carers assessment, this is a meeting with a Social Worker who will look at the services you might benefit from to help you.
You or the Person You Care for May be Entitled to Benefits
Some benefits are not means tested so even if you have private funds you may still be able to claim. Get advice from NHS Carers Direct 0808 802 0202, or ask at your local Citizens Advice Bureau or the Department of Work and Pensions.
Planning Ahead
Plan ahead, so that if you have an emergency or are unwell the person that you care for will be looked after. You can register for the Carer’s in Crisis Service. You need to do this now, rather than when you have an emergency as registration can take 3 to 4 weeks. Once the plan is set up you will have the peace of mind of knowing that help is just a phone call away if you ever need it
Useful Contact Details
Bournemouth and Poole Carers Team
Telephone: 01202 458 204 – ask for Carers in Crisis Registration Service
Visit the Bournemouth and Poole Carers Website
Bournemouth Social Services
- Telephone: 01202 454 979
- NHS Carers Direct: Telephone 0808 802 0202
- Visit NHS Carers Direct Website
The Leonardo Trust
- Telephone: 01202 698 325
- Email: [email protected]
- Website: https://leonardocarersupport.org/
Age UK
This service is for older people, their families, friends and carers. They have a helpline open every day of the year, 8:00am to 7:00pm
- Telephone: 0800 055 6112 / 0800 678 1602
Age UK are coordinating requests for help with issues relating to loneliness and isolation, or support in accessing items such as food, cash or medication. Support is available to all residents within the Dorset Council area.
To request help call 01305269444
Email: [email protected]
Carers UK
- Telephone: 0207 378 4999
- Email: [email protected]
- Website: https://www.carersuk.org/