Carer support – World Alzheimer’s Month

Do you provide support or help to a family member, friend or neighbour who has a long term condition, disability, mental or physical health condition or addiction and would be unable to manage without your help? If you do, you are a carer. According to the Scottish Government, a carer is an individual who provides or intends to provide care for another individual. A carer can be any age, and if they are under 18, they would be called a young carer. Carers can provide any amount of support, from one hour per week to 24 hours per day and can be just beginning their caring role, or have been doing so for a long time. You don’t have to live with the person you care for to be called a carer.

Being a carer can be very rewarding, but can also present challenges and there is support available to all carers, no matter how long you have been a one, or how many hours of care you provide.

The Carer’s (Scotland) Act 2016

This was created to give carers protected rights in Scotland. These include the right to:

  • receive support to create an Adult Carer Support Plan or Young Carer Statement
  • access support as a carer, based on local eligibility criteria set by the local authority
  • be involved and included in hospital discharge planning, when the cared for person is admitted to hospital.

Adult Carer Support Plans and Young Carer Statements

Adult Carer Support Plans (ACSP) and Young Carer Statements (YCS) replaced Carers’ Assessments with the introduction of the Carer’s Act 2016. Both the ACSP and YCS are supportive documents that allow you to have a good conversation with a practitioner about your role as a carer and to think about what supports might help you in your caring role. They consider what is going well, what is challenging and consider if you are able and willing to continue in your caring role.

We can help you to complete the support plan. To apply call the Carer Support Team on 0131 536 3371 or fill out the ask for support for a carer online form.

If you are looking for more information about Young Carers Statements including how to refer, please see this information from Edinburgh Young Carers.

Support for carers of people living with Dementia

As it’s World Alzheimer’s Month, we wanted to highlight some carer support specific to carers who care for someone living with dementia.

  • Capital Carers provide a variety of support for carers in the North West of Edinburgh including:
    • Side by Side project – A befriending and peer support project for people affected by dementia, or cognitive impairment.
    • A variety of groups, including dementia friendly singing group, exercise, dance, art groups and peer support.
  • Care for Carers provide a variety of programmes for carers, including fully funded short breaks away, days out, and social support.
  • Eric Liddell provide:
    • day care
    • befriending
    • a music wellbeing programme
    • community dementia support
    • digital support
  • MECOPP provides carer support in a variety of languages including Cantonese; Mandarin; Arabic; Hindi; Bengali; Nepali; Punjabi; Urdu; Odiya; and, Madi.
  • Space at the Broomhouse Hub – (Vintage Vibes) provides support and companionship for either the carer or cared for person.
  • VOCAL, a carers training website that provides a variety of courses available either in person or online for carers, some dementia specific and some more general carer support in a variety of subjects. This is free to join.

Advocacy Services for Carers

There are two main advocacy services specifically for carers in Edinburgh:

Edinburgh Carers Council provides a listening ear, one-to-one support as well as a range of services which enables carers to support the person they care for and assist in carrying out caring responsibilities, and ensures carers are personally looked after and have time for themselves. You can call them on 0131 322 8480 or email them at info@edinburghcarerscouncil.co.uk

Voiceability provides free advocacy to those caring for someone in Edinburgh, supporting you and the person you care for to have your rights upheld. You can call them on 0300 303 1660 or email them at helpline@voiceability.org.

Thank you for reading our article about carer support. For any more information or to discuss anything related to carer support, please call our friendly helpline on 0131 536 3371.