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?

Carers look after family partners or friends in need of help because they are ill, frail, disabled or have mental health or substance misuse problems. the care they provide is unpaid.

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…”*

The Spinney Carers Register

If you let us know you are a carer. You may be entitled to:

• A Carers Information Pack (containing a Cambridgeshire Carers Support Directory) from the Carers Support Team
• Receive a regular Carers Newsletter from the Carers Support Team
• A Carers Assessment to look at you needs as a carer, and support available to you
• Make a Carers Emergency Plan (ICER) to be registered with Cambridgeshire County Council
• A Carers prescription for a short break from caring

To discuss any of this, or if you would like to be referred on to the Cambridgeshire County Councils Carers Support Team please talk to the Carers Champion in your surgery, Mandy.

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 19 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 412125.

Local/National Carers Activities - Useful Information/Contacts

• Carers Direct 08088 020202 http://www.nhs.uk/carersdirect

• Carers Support Managers from the County Council Carers Support Team (01480) 420617 http://www.cambridgeshire.gov.uk/social/carers

• Age UK (01480) 218643 http://www.ace.org.uk

• Alzheimer’s Society (01480) 415235 http://www.alzheimers.org.uk/

• Crossroads Care Cambridgeshire 08452 410954 or 01480 499090 http://www.crossroadscarecambridgeshire.org.uk/

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

• Adults Social Services (Cambridgeshire Direct Contact Centre) 0345 045 5202 http://www.cambridgeshire.gov.uk/social/carers

• Childrens Social Services (Cambridgeshire Direct Contact Centre) 0345 045 5203 http://www.cambridgeshire.gov.uk/childrenyoungpeople/familyinformation/

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

• National Carers Web-site http://www.direct.gov.uk/en/CaringForSomeone

• The Spinney Surgery 08444 773603

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

• Pinpoint provides independent information, support and a parental involvement network for parent carers 07517419761 http://www.pinpoint-cambs.org.uk/contact

• Carers UK http://www.carersuk.org

For Benefits advice:

• Local Pension Service 01223 545374
• Village benefits Advice Service 01353 666990
• CAB 01480 388900
• Disability Huntingdonshire 01480 830833
• Disability Cambridgeshire 01480 839192 www.disability-cambridgeshire.org.uk
• Benefit Enquiry Line 0800 88 22 00 www.direct.gov.uk/carers

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

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