The Spinney Carers Project Group was established in January 1996 to raise the awareness of the Spinney's Primary Health Care Team to Carers and their needs, and to involve Carers as partners in identifying ways of improving services for Carers within the Spinney Practice. Since then the staff, patients/carers and representatives of the Spinney Patients Association and other interested local agencies and organisations have been working together to:

• Develop ways of identifying all the Carers who themselves are patients of the Spinney Practice.

• Offer all Carers identified better access to information, and to keep them well informed of local initiatives.

• Offer Care and Support by affording Carers time to discuss their problems.

The Spinney Practice was awarded ‘Beacon Status’ in June 1999 for its Carers Project Group and a document with various models of setting up a ‘Support System for Carers’ was published by the Spinney in April 2001. Work is ongoing and the Spinney Carers Project has become the blueprint for the Health Authority’s advice to other practices on how to set up and operate such a group.

Who is a Carer?

A CARER is someone, of any age, who is caring for a child or adult who needs their help/support because of ill health/disability or frailty. This can also include those suffering from long term conditions e.g. food allergies, epilepsy, autism, diabetes, asthma, heart problems etc.

What might caring mean to us?

“ For most caring is not a matter of choice. It comes to us through that hardest of taskmasters, the implacable combination of love and duty. It is by no means always a burden unwillingly borne or even an intolerable privation, but it is always, for the Primary Carer, so totally consuming of life as to limit every other role and possibility.”**

“.… it makes me feel that there are other people there to help me…”*

Young Carers and the Teenage Carers Project

A young Carer is any young person (up to the age of 18) whose life is affected by caring for a parent, sibling, family member or friend who has a disability, long term illness, mental health problem or who misuses drugs or alcohol.

Young Carers may need a break and a chance to socialise with other young people who have caring responsibilities.

The Young Carers Group can assist young people in meeting other carers, to have time off from caring and have some fun!

• If you live in Huntingdonshire …

• If you are under 18 years of age …

• If you want to chat about looking after someone at home and things that might help …

• If you would like to join a group …

Contact: Jo on 08452 410954.

Local/National Carers Activities - Useful Information/Contacts

• Carers Support Worker (01480) 420616

• Age Concern (01480) 218643

• Age Concern Web-site http://www.ace.org.uk

• Alzheimer’s (01480) 415235

• Crossroads Caring for Carers 08452 410954

• Carers UK-Huntingdonshire Branch (formerly Carers National Association) (01480) 420615

• Social Services (01480) 375501

• Disability Living Centre (equipment advice) (01480) 830495

• National Carers Web-site http://www.carers.gov.uk

• The Spinney Surgery 08444 773603

• Motor Neurone Disease Association http://www.mndassociation.org

For a copy of ‘Who Cares’ a local information booklet for disabled people and their Carers - Contact DISH (Disabled Information Services Huntingdonshire) on (01480) 830833 or any of the above organisations.

* quotes from Spinney Carers.
**  quote used at a Carers Conference.

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