Carers Event in Corby

A special event for carers was held at Lakeside Surgery in Corby and organisations from across the county attended, giving advice on accommodation, finance, fire safety, day care, social events and activities.

More than 40 carers went along to the event and Lakeside's nurses and social prescribing teams were also on hand to give health and wellbeing information. It was the first event of its kind and the feedback from patients and organisations was so positive that it may be repeated.

Lynne Gallagher, Primary Care Liaison at Northants Carers said: 'One in ten of the population are in some sort of caring role and this is a very good opportunity for outreach. We run activities across the county and also have a telephone support line as well.'

Karen Bell and Darren Carson represented Northants Fire and Rescue. Darren said: 'We offer home fire safety checks, smoke alarms and can advise vulnerable groups, such as the elderly or disabled on what to do in the event of a fire, particularly if there are oxygen cylinders in the home, or people are caring for those who are bed bound or have mobility issues.'

The Autumn Centre in Corby offers day care services for the over 50s. Manager Lee McCormick said: 'We deliver dementia care, additional support and anyone can come in off the street who just wants a bit of social time. We are open five days a week and people can drop in to see what we offer.'

Nicky Dillon, community support worker from Northants Association for the Blind, said: 'We offer support and advice for blind people and the visually impaired and do home visits, run events and give training to nurses or homes and we also have a great children's and families service as well.'

Rebecca Jolley from Kettering-based Accommodation Concern said: 'We provide advice around housing, welfare benefits and debt and also help if a property is unsuitable or in disrepair.'

Juliet Barnes, an AgeWell coordinator said: 'We help anyone over the age of 65 to manage their health and wellbeing and remain as independent and well as possible in their own homes, signposting them to other agencies if necessary.'

Maureen Jones, from the Department for Work and Pensions, said: 'I help people with health conditions get into work or those already in work keep their employment and get the right support through their employer.'

Yvonne, who is a carer said: 'It was amazing, I was pleasantly stunned and I wasn't aware of half of the help and services that are available out there so this was a really useful event.'

Kareema McCarthy, Personalised Care Manager for Rockingham Forest PCN, helped to coordinate the event. She said: 'We have held similar events before for other groups but this is the first time we have focused specifically on carers. We were delighted that so many people attended and gave really positive feedback. Thanks to everyone who made it such a success.'

Mary Russell, Patient Services Manager at Lakeside said: 'We would like to thank all those who contributed to making the carers' event a success. Feedback from patients who attended has been very positive, we will continue to focus on improving awareness of the local services available to support carers and hope to plan more events in the future.'