ADULT CARERS
Where to go for help
Help
Counselling & Support Services in Enfield / UK
To save or print the list of counselling contacts, click here.
Support Groups
It can be helpful to share your experiences and problems (and solutions) with other Carers in a similar situation to you. We run a number of regular Support Groups, where you can pop in for a chat and a cup of tea. These include groups for Mental Health Carers, Dementia Carers and Learning Disability & Autism Carers. Upcoming dates are shown on this page, and it’s always worth reading our Newsletter to see what’s happening.
Counselling
Long term caring can be very stressful, and you may sometimes feel that it is difficult to cope. Our counselling service is here to help. Counselling isn’t the same as discussing things with family or friends. Talking to somebody who understands but is not emotionally involved can really help you to open up and talk about how you feel. You can find out more about our counselling service here .
Training & Advice
We have sessions on areas such as First Aid, Moving & Handling and Nursing Skills for Carers.
Taking care of YOU!
It’s important that you take care of yourself, apart from anything else, the people who rely on you need you fit and well. You can start by taking the occasional break and having a bit of time for yourself. This might be the occasional evening out, a short break, or even just a relaxing massage. You’ll find details of what we have available on this website, and in our Newsletter .
We understand that in many cases you can’t leave your cared for alone, and sometimes we can help with free replacement care. Just ask us about this. [N.B. check re MH issues]
We also run Wellbeing sessions to give you advice on areas such as diet, exercise and relaxation, together with free basic health checks.
Other Events
From time to time we will host other events, such as our recent Mental Health Carers Conference.
Even if we can’t provide what you need, we may be able to point you in the right direction. We’re just at the end of the phone, and we have regular Drop-In sessions on Mondays (1pm – 4pm) and Wednesdays (11am – 3pm).
My Cared for has to stay in hospital
When your cared for is admitted to hospital, you will want this to be for no longer than necessary, and to make sure that they’re not re-admitted. Everyone shares these aims, and as a Carer you have an important role to play in making this happen. We want the hospital to think of a team of people looking after the patient, which includes you. The key people are the cared for/patient, the medical staff and you the Carer. This is sometimes referred to as the Triangle of Care.
Here are some points to make this work as well as possible.
Key relationships
It’s helpful if you identify the key people in the care process. This may include the Ward Manager, a Named Nurse, doctors and other medical staff. If you introduce yourself, and explain your relationship to their patient, they should recognise you as a valuable resource who can make things easier for them. For example, you may be familiar with things like allergies, medication taken, and medical history.
Legal position
If your cared for is an adult with capacity (that is they can make their own decisions), then medical staff will have to respect their decisions, even if you disagree. This can be hard for you if you’ve been responsible for their care and feel that you know what is right for your cared for. But you need to understand the position that medical staff are in, they must obey the law.
In certain circumstances, where your cared for is held under parts of the Mental Health Act the decision-making passes to the “nearest relative”. There are strict rules about who this is, and it’s not always the next of kin. To find out more you can visit the Gov.uk website or the MIND website.
These are just general points. If you have a query about a legal matter relating to your cared for, you should seek advice from a properly qualified person. We can arrange short, free advice calls with a solicitor (ring 0202 8366 3677 or email info@enfieldcarers.org to book).
Confidentiality
Medical staff must also respect the confidentiality of information about a cared for adult with capacity and only share it with permission. Of course, confidentiality doesn’t apply to listening, so this doesn’t stop you sharing your knowledge with them.
Carers passport
If your cared for is in North Middlesex Hospital, they run a Carers’ Passport scheme, which gives benefits such as extended visiting hours, reduced parking charges and a discount on food.
