Over 100 unpaid carers and support organisations gathered at Easterbrook Hall on the 10th October to discuss the role of unpaid carers in the region. It was the first conference of its kind to take place in Dumfries and Galloway and organisers were pleased with the interest and support received for the event and the shared understanding about the importance and significance of unpaid carers within the health and social care workforce.

Ian Seymour, General Manager, Care Training and Consultancy CIC based at The Crichton said: “We all know how important unpaid carers are to those they care for, but what is becoming more apparent is that unpaid carers make up a significant part of the health and social care workforce, which not only allows people to live at home for longer, it also takes pressure off of frontline services. This has many benefits, but it also comes at a cost to unpaid carers who have to make sacrifices in their own lives to carry out their caring duties. Many don’t recognise themselves as unpaid carers, which means they are not always accessing the support services that are out there. It is for this reason that we want to help identify unpaid carers and to support and empower them. We want to give unpaid carers a voice and we also want to protect them and their health and wellbeing too.

Although we, and other organisations, already provide services and training to support unpaid carers, we need to work more closely with others to maximise the impact of our efforts for the benefit of unpaid carers and those they care for. Enhanced communications to raise awareness of what is already happening across the region will help, and the conference was an important first step, but to make a real difference we now need to work together to make it easier for unpaid carers to access the information, support and advice that is available to them. We also need to work with funders and policy makers to put longer-term plans in place to address the changing needs of the growing community of unpaid carers. If you are not an unpaid carer already, the chances are you will be at some point, so we all need to think seriously about this rewarding, but challenging role.

I am grateful to everyone who supported the conference and for their commitment to make a difference to the lives of unpaid carers. We cannot do this alone, so we will work with others to discuss the key outcomes from the conference and what action we need to take to address the things that matter most to unpaid carers locally. There is already an appetite to hold a second conference in 2024, so we will endeavour to facilitate this and to do what we can to respond to the needs of unpaid carers in the meantime.”

The conference proved to be a useful platform for listening, learning, discussion and sharing experiences between organisations and unpaid carers and for signposting the services of over 20 support organisations who attended on the day.

It is hoped that the emerging themes from the conference will inform future strategies and interventions to support unpaid carers at home, in the workplace and in schools/places of learning, as well as to help organisations to focus their efforts on the most pressing needs of unpaid carers in Dumfries and Galloway.

Anyone who would like to find out about future events can sign up to the mailing list for unpaid carers and access the directory of support organisations by visiting www.caretrain.co.uk/unpaidcarers. Alternatively, email info@caretrain.co.uk

PRESS ENQUIRIES:
Caroline Bell, Clear as a Bell Marketing (on behalf of Care Training and Consultancy CIC)

Tel: 07795371888 Email: caroline@clearasabellmarketing.co.uk

D&G UNPAID CARERS CONFERENCE WAS ORGANISED BY:
Care Training and Consultancy CIC, Grierson House, The Crichton, Dumfries, DG1 4ZE. SC711304 Tel: 01387 214248 Email: info@caretrain.co.uk www.caretrain.co.uk