Double Boost For St Catherine’s Hospice Carer Support Services

A service introduced by St Catherine’s Hospice Family Support Team which provides a ‘lifeline’ for local carers has been highlighted as an example of good practice in a national report.
The St Catherine’s Hospice Carers’ Befriending Service – which allows people to take a break from their caring role by providing a trained volunteer to sit with a ‘cared for’ person for up to four hours each week – has been praised in a report from the Social Care Institute for Excellence, an independent charity which works to improve care services by sharing knowledge about what works.
The Family Support Team is also celebrating the award of a £7,330 grant from Lancashire County Council to fund a pilot complementary therapies service for carers in their own homes.

The service will provide carers with access to stress-relieving treatments like Reiki, massage, reflexology and aromatherapy and some much-needed ‘me time’ without having to leave home.
The news has been announced during this year’s Carers Week – which runs from June 10 to 17 – with the theme ‘prepared to care’, focusing on how the UK’s current carer population is coping; how effectively the government is supporting the giteming numbers of carers; and whether the wider population is prepared for future caring responsibilities.
Cheryl Scott, Family Support Manager at St Catherine’s Hospice, said: “We’re thrilled to have received recognition for the Carers’ Befriending Service in this report from the Social Care Institute for Excellence, which gives credit to the use of volunteers in hospice services. “We are very proud of the service which we know provides a real life-line for carers – offering them the chance to carry out everyday tasks like going to the supermarket or to attend a GP appointment without having to worry about leaving the cared for person at home on their own.
“We are also delighted with the news our funding bid for a new ‘at-home’ complementary therapies service for carers has been successful. We have seen at Day Therapy and at our Carers’ Drop-In sessions what a difference undergoing these treatments can make, but understand the demands on many carers mean they cannot make it into the hospice to attend. By being granted funds to start delivering such therapies to carers in their own homes, we hope more people can benefit.”

Former carer Frank Stanley, from Ashton, received the support of the Befriending Service last year during his late wife Frances’ battle with cancer. He said it helped ‘take some of the weight off his shoulders’.
Frank, aged 74, said: “It can be stressful caring for someone who is ill – particularly towards the end, when Frances relied on me for nearly everything.

“The visits from Linda, the befriender, were a lifeline – it felt like I could breathe again, they made things that little bit easier.”

Meanwhile, the grant award from Lancashire County Council will fund a pilot project delivering complementary therapies at home to those caring for people who are at the end of their lives.
A host of different therapies will be available over different timescales – covering anything from a one-off session to a six-week course. All treatments will be decided upon according to each carer’s individual needs.
The extension of this service fits with the aims of the Lancashire Multi-Agency Carers Strategy, which include supporting the carer to have a break; supporting a carer’s wellbeing; and supporting a carer with their health needs.
Helen Yates, a complementary therapist with 15 years’ experience, will deliver the new complementary therapies ‘at home’ service in the community.
Helen, who has also volunteered at the monthly carers’ drop-in session for three years, said: “From my observations and experience of working with carers the main feedback I get – apart from the enjoyment of the treatment – is that they have a period of ‘me time’ in which they are the focus of attention. This treatment time becomes an ‘oasis’ in an otherwise difficult period of time in their lives.
“Responses can vary from wanting to talk about and offload their problems, to falling asleep. Sometimes people can become tearful after hanging up their carers defence mask. “It is very rewarding to be able to give someone a respite from their everyday cares and problems for however short a time – enabling them to get back in touch with themselves.”

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