Carer's Week 2024

10th - 16th June 

Colleagues across the system have been celebrating the work of Carers this week. We've seen workshops, free activities and roadshows pop up throughout the county. 

With one in five employees at Lincolnshire County Council (LCC) having a caring responsibility, it is really important that we think about how we best support both those who need care but also those of us that provide it. Do you know who the carers are in your team?

Findings from an LCC survey will inform recommendations to the Corporate Diversity Steering Group and Corporate Leadership Team to improve support to employee carers and their managers. This approach will help foster a better understanding among colleagues and builds on last week's 'what matters to you?' focus. 

Like LCC, Lincolnshire Community Health Services NHS Trust also run a staff network for carers where people can seek support and guidance or just attend for a compassionate conversation with staff who are also carers.

United Lincolnshire Hospitals NHS Trust have achieved so much to help, assist and promote the role of carers including a dedicated Care Partner Policy and Charter, a revised Visiting policy, relaunch of the new Care Partner badges and resources boxes for each adult ward. Nationally the Trust has been recognised as a lead organisation for the work undertaken around carers and form part of the work around a national NHS carer’s strategy. They also have a Carers Network to provide support for all staff carers across the organisation.

In the VCSE sector, there are many organisations that have offered support and activities for carers. A great example of this is the work throughout April to provide Physical Activity opportunities. Being active when you’re a carer can be more challenging that’s why Carers UK are running Carers Active April. The month-long campaign aimed to support unpaid carers to be physically active and raise awareness of the benefits of physical activity for carers and the barriers they may face. Research from Carers UK found that 67% of unpaid carers said taking part in physical activity helped them feel more connected to other people, and 73% said that being physically active makes them feel good about themselves. You can find out more via Lincolnshire's Let's Move platform. Why not use the activity finder and see if there is something for you, nearby? 

If you want to know more about what life is like as a Carer in Lincolnshire, have a listen to Episode 14 - Katie Oates on the Its All About People Podcast. She shares her experience as a mum that cares for her 22 year old son. Another episode for your play list is Episode 8 - Maximising Independence with Shaun Harrison. Here you'll hear about the approaches they take to support people to be as independent as possible. It's all about people!