Carers’ Support (Bexley)

Annual Report

2015/16

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Carers’ Support (Bexley) Annual Report 2015/16

Carers’ Support (Bexley) is managed by a Management Committee consisting of volunteers who are directors of the company and trustees of the charity. They are responsible for the overall management of the organisation, determining policy and ensuring that it is implemented by the staff through the Chief Executive. They regularly review potential risks to the organisation and ensure that mitigating actions are undertaken and contingency plans are in place.

Management CommitteeChair Nicola Fry Vice Chair Valerie King Members Judith Bayne (until November 2015)

Iris BenjafieldCarole BorellaDesma BrenderSally EllisAnn Lucas (until November 2015)Marie Faulkner (until November 2015)

Staff TeamChief Executive Dave Baker Operations Manager Alison BakerRespite Team Hazel Grout (Respite Manager)

Margaret Arnold (Bexley Scheme Manager)Claire Hunt, Maria Jenkins (Care Co-ordinators)

Information and Support Manager: Felicity Packard Information and Support Worker Barbara CooperOffice Manager: Pam SloanOffice Assistant Jenny MillerSupport Worker Service Co-ordinator: Victoria BakerSupport Workers Wendy Ashdown, Alie Bangura, Rhiannon Bernard, Tracey

Hale, Emily Hazel, Anthony Jenkins, Elepheria Karageorgis, Louise Kirkman, Elaine Meyer, Mary Phillips, William Watkins, Maxine Weston,

IncorporationCarers’ Support (Bexley) is a company limited by guarantee, registration number 3709684 and a registered charity number 1075801.

Governing DocumentThe organisation is governed by a Memorandum and Articles of Association in which our objects are stated as: “To relieve physical, mental and material distress amongst the carers of persons who are frail, elderly, disabled, or adults and children with special needs, who live in the London Borough of Bexley and London Borough of Greenwich, by providing flexible home-based respite care, support and information for such carers to assist the carers and their dependents.”

Carers’ Support (Bexley)The Manor House Grassington Road Sidcup Kent. DA14 6BY

How to contact us: Telephone: 020 8302 8011 Email: info@carerssupport.org Fax: 020 8300 3002

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Carers’ Support (Bexley)

Our Vision At Carers Support (Bexley) our vision is simple; we want to make a real difference to the lives of carers in Bexley and Greenwich. We are committed to tackling the isolation and loneliness that many carers feel by providing information, advice, support, respite and other services to those who dedicate their lives to caring for their loved ones. We pride ourselves in working with carers young and old, and their families, in a positive, responsive, professional and creative way to improve their lives.

...Putting Carers First

Our Values

People First – We recognise and value people as individuals with individual needs and feelings and we are committed to providing flexible and creative services in response. Our focus is on putting people first and treating people how we would wish to be treated. We will be compassionate, warm, polite, empathetic, understanding and approachable at all times.

Respect – We aim to treat everyone with dignity, understanding and respect at all times. We value diversity and embrace peoples differences in the way we work.

Honesty and integrity – We believe that acting with integrity and honesty is integral to our reputation; this means we do what we say we will and deliver our promises. We are open, honest and transparent in the way we work.

Professional – We have a skilled and experienced team of staff and volunteers who are committed to working in a professional way and delivering excellence within all our services. We pride ourselves in having a “can do” attitude where we aim to say “yes” rather than “no” as much as we can.

Valuing Our Staff – We aim to be a good employer, ensuring that all staff and volunteers receive adequate training and support and opportunities for personal development.

Valuing Our Volunteers – We have a dedicated and enthusiastic team of local volunteers who support our work. We are led by a voluntary board who provide direction and leadership to Carers Support (Bexley). We also use volunteers from all over the world within our respite service and we believe that this adds real value, making this service truly unique.

Independence – We value our independence as an organisation whilst recognising that partnership working is essential to our success. We will work in partnership where this enables us to achieve our vision and deliver better services to carers.

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Free – We believe that our services should be free to carers wherever possible.

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Chair’s ForewordThe year has been an exciting one for all at Carer’s Support (Bexley), with new initiatives that include the Carers Wellbeing Hub, and the formation of a Friends Group who have taken on the task of fundraising for our organisation.Our commitment to support and empower Carers in their demanding role is the driving force behind all that we do. We recognise that caring can often be an unappreciated and under-valued task. We understand the struggle and desperation felt by many Carers, and our aim is to uphold and strengthen them with services tailored to meet their individual needs, and so ease the considerable burdens placed upon them.

This year one of the new initiatives we have been involved with, thanks to funding from the London Borough of Bexley, is the Carers Wellbeing Hub. The Hub is a partnership between 4 local charities: Carers’ Support (Bexley), Crossroads Care South East London, Age UK Bexley and the Bexley branch of the Alzheimer’s Society. The aim of the partnership is to identify hidden carers who are not receiving any support and put them in touch with local organisations and services that can help them in their caring role. Between the start of the project in October 2015, and March 2016, we identified and assessed 90 new Carers. The additional funding has enabled us to provide a much more in-depth service for clients, including more home visits, and has meant that we have been able to take on an additional member of staff, Barbara Cooper, to provide one to one support. Barbara worked for Carers’ Support previously, and retired in March 2013, but agreed to come back to us on a part-time basis to fulfil this important role.

In March 2016 we had our first meeting of our newly-formed Friends Committee, with help from members of the Sidcup Rotary Club, and we decided to hold our first fund-raising event in June 2016: a vintage tea party on the lawns outside our offices. This was a great success, attended by more than 50 people who enjoyed, in glorious sunshine, a vast selection of delicious homemade cakes and scones. All who attended were very positive in their appreciation of this happy and informal space to relax and meet new people.

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Our Friends Committee will be meeting to organise another event to take place early next year. This may be a quiz night or concert. We would very much welcome any fresh ideas for fundraising and any offers of practical help.

As funding continues to be a struggle for our organisation, we have been looking at ways to increase our income from other sources. One easy way to donate to Carers’ Support for those who shop on-line, is through the Give as you Live scheme. Briefly, once you have signed up to the scheme the retailer will donate up to 6% to your chosen charity with no extra cost to yourself. I would urge everyone who’s able to donate in this way to sign up and pass the word to family and friends. It really can make an amazing difference. Leaflets are available with all the necessary information to sign up to this scheme.

Our new chargeable Support Worker Service has gone from strength to strength and we are currently helping 28 families with a team of 12 staff. This has generated much needed extra income for our organisation. Similarly, our In Touch Service has provided invaluable support to Carers and Former Carers during the year. And we continue to support families under the Independent Living Scheme, through our Stroke Project service, and with welfare benefits and general advice.

I would like to extend a huge thank you to our amazing and committed staff. Their genuine compassion, empathetic concern and dedicated approach to all Carers are what enable us at Carers’ Support to deliver such a valuable and unique service.

And finally I would like to thank all the many volunteers who give so freely of their time and without whom our organisation could not operate: our very special volunteers from abroad, from whom we learn so much, and who are so appreciated by our families; our In Touch volunteers who help with such essential emotional support; our office volunteers who help the organisation to run smoothly, and finally our dedicated Management Committee all of whom give freely of their time and talents. We owe them all a huge debt of gratitude. This year we sadly said “goodbye” to Ann Lucas and Marie Faulkner who stepped down from the Committee after many years of dedicated service. Judith Bayne also stepped down from the Committee although she has kindly agreed to continue volunteering for us by helping us monthly with our accounts. But we were fortunately able to welcome 4 new Committee members and look forward to working closely with them in the future.

Our hope for the future is to continue with the support we currently provide and to reach those who are unaware of our organisation and the help we can offer. What Carers give to their loved ones is beyond price, priceless. We recognise that Carers need care too and we will continue to strive to make a real difference to people’s lives.

Nicola Fry

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Who is a Carer?A carer is someone who, without payment, provides help and support to a partner, child, relative, friend or neighbour, who could not manage without their help. This could be due to age, physical or mental illness, addiction or disability. The term carer should not be confused with a care worker, or care assistant, who receives payment for looking after someone.A young carer is a child or young person under the age of 18 carrying out significant caring tasks and assuming a level of responsibility for another person, which would normally be taken by an adult.

Anyone can become a carer; carers come from all walks of life, all cultures and can be of any age.Many carers do not consider themselves to be a carer, they are just looking after their mother, son, or best friend, just getting on with it and doing what anyone else would in the same situation.Carers don’t choose to become carers: it just happens and they have to get on with it – if they did not do it, who would and what would happen to the person they care for? (The Carers Trust)

A big Thank You to all the organisations who have supported us this year:

The London Borough of BexleyThe Royal Borough of GreenwichThe Big Lottery FundThe Henry Smith CharityThe Department of Health Volunteering FundThe William Kendall FoundationThe Garfield Weston FoundationThe Carers TrustThe Morrisons FoundationThe Lloyds Bank FoundationThe Alchemy FoundationThe Rotary Club of SidcupAsda Crook Log, BexleyheathThe Tuesday Luncheon ClubSt Barnabas Church, Baldwyns ParkCharlton Central Residents AssociationBexley Community Housing Association

As well as the organisations, thanks need to go to all the individuals (too many to mention here) who have made personal donations during the year.

In Memorium

We would particularly like to thank all the friends and relatives who made donations to Carers’ Support (Bexley) in memory of:

Bernard Cooper Dick DixeyJohn Ellis Ray and Shirley GarlandNimu Raja John RussellVera Steadman

Our Carers Breaks ServiceIn total,169 carers (57 in Greenwich and 112 in Bexley) received a break during the year from April 2015 to March 2016, and a total of 16,305 care hours were provided (5,341 in Greenwich and 10,964 in Bexley)

We wish to record our thanks to our wonderful staff team and to all the volunteers who worked for us this year:

Ruddy Andres Ajno MamaniHuei Jie Chen Borim KimChanmi KimHaemin YoonSasha Rueda CardenasAnalucia Saldias PozoGreta PoggenseeSofia Esquivel MerinoChanmi KimEddy JoxCamilo Andres Salamanca LeguizamonJaimie RodriguezSuyoun ParkAugustina Ortiz RengelBoyoun Kim

Jessamine SnowballKatherina ZimmermanSoyun KimGraziella Oliveira SeveriJuliana Lozano GonzalezVinod PacchikapallamYun Sil Choi (Sylvia)Ha Kyung Koo (Holly)Injae Lee (Jane)Seong Joon Kim (Dino)Seungjae Yoo (Jae)Rebekka HackenbergerLeoni BushuvenHeejae JungEuijin Jung (Jimmy)

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We sent anonymous questionnaires to everyone who used our service this year in September 2015 and in March 2016. Here are some of the responses we received:

88% of carers said that having a break from caring had helped to reduce or prevent feelings of stress.90% said the service had enabled them to continue to care79% said it had helped to reduce isolation and loneliness for the person they care for100% said the volunteers’ visits were beneficial for the person cared for.

Comments included:

“It has made so much difference to me and my husband. The admin staff are so kind and helpful making arrangements and do their best to fit in any special arrangements. Our volunteer is exceptional. She is very capable. She sits and chats to my mother and they have become friends. When I have been away overnight I can go without worrying about home.”

“The support I have received from the volunteer means that I have some resemblance of my normal life. My wife also enjoys her company and conversations.”

Information and Advice

During the period 1 April 2015 to 31 March 2016: More than 400 carers have requested and

received an information pack and/or a first time subscription to our newsletter for carers, Carers Voice.

More than 6,500 copies of Carers Voice have been distributed to individual carers and to GP surgeries, libraries, etc.

More than 800 carers have received “one-to-one” information and support, via the telephone or a home visit

3047 one–to-one support sessions have been provided.

404 carers have received welfare benefits advice

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We have actively assisted 203 people to submit benefit claims.

As a direct result of our welfare benefits service, £635,627 has been raised in additional annual income for carers between 1 April 2015 and 31 March 2016, and £7,688,531 has been raised since the project started.

Some of the comments from carers about our Information and Support Service:

“I recently needed very specific practical advice and support which was provided quickly and efficiently and with a huge amount of empathy and kindness at a very emotional and distressing time.”

“I must let you know the help and support you have provided to me as a carer. Before Christmas myself and my husband were both in despair but now I can see we will both work together and take help when needed. Thank you.”

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We would like to thank our volunteers: Jean Ball, Pat Brasier, Vivien Hill, Caroline Lewis, Ian Mitchell, Liz Paine, Elisabeth Petchey, Angela Smith and Jacquie Wilson without whom we could not provide this very valuable service.

Someone to Talk to

Our In Touch service provides emotional support and a listening ear for carers. During 2015/2016:

44 carers or former carers received on-going support from a volunteer

1002 one to one support sessions were provided by 25 volunteers

More than 500 carers or former carers received one-off or occasional emotional support, usually on the telephone

A total of 774 one-off or occasional sessions were provided

48 support group meetings were held.

In the autumn of 2015 we held an 8-session “Coping with Loss” group for former carers, facilitated by a qualified counsellor, which was attended by 12 former carers. We would like to thank the Sidcup Rotary Club for their donation towards this group.

Activities at our Support Groups this year have included: card making; a trip to the Greenwich Carers Centre; a Christmas party; a talk about medicines given by a qualified pharmacist; armchair exercises, and several visits from Carol Wells, concert pianist, who provided musical entertainment and reminiscence therapy.

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With many thanks to all the volunteers who have given up their time to support carers between April 2015 and March 2016:

Esther Abereoje Mary Anderson Corrine Archer Wendy AshdownSharon Back Bernice BeddoesChristopher Bratton Gina BryantSue Burnby Barbara CooperJackie Fitzmaurice Lesley Fraser-WardTatiyana Graham Gabby GrantJuliet Grant Catherine JamesSarah Kay Lesley MathersElizabeth Miller Ian Mitchell Julia Nagle Bernadette O’ConnorVivien O’Neil Ian PardoeTracey Pettey Lesley SnashfoldAnn Stevens Lita TylerMary Twomey Caroline WardKay West

The service provided to former carers is funded by the Department of Health through the Health and

Social Care Volunteering Fund.

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Support for Stroke Survivors and Their Carers

Thanks to funding from the Henry Smith Charity during 2015/16, we have been able to employ a dedicated worker to support carers of people who have had strokes.

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Independent Living Scheme

Over the past year, Carers’ Support (Bexley) has been able to provide advice, information and support for carers and those they care for to enable them to understand what an Individual budget is, apply for one if they are eligible, and to make the most of their Individual Budget when they get one.

This year has been very busy: 198 carers have approached us for advice Of these 55 have also received advocacy

support 369 advice sessions have been provided and

91 advocacy sessions

We have also been able to provide “hands on” practical help this year for 23 people (14 carers and 9 disabled people) who wish to employ their own Personal Assistants (PAs).

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As well as meeting carers on the stroke wards in the local hospitals, our stroke support worker also visits carers in their own homes to provide support. In total we have received 521 contacts from 233 carers over the past year

Our help includes providing a payroll service, HR advice and help, supervision and training for workers, help with interviewing, references, DBS checks, and whatever else the carer or cared for person feels they need.

Support Worker Service

We started our Support Worker Service this year in response to demand from Carers and people with care needs.

The service provides flexible help with things like:

shopping (either shopping for someone or going shopping with them)

light housework, laundry, ironing, preparing and serving meals

company, companionship and ensuring the safety of the person with care needs

taking the cared for person out and about Accompanying them to appointments (eg. with

the GP, hospital, optician, etc.)

They do not provide help with personal care, but apart from that they can be flexible around the needs of the carer and person they care for.

All our support workers have been checked by us and have enhanced disclosures from the DBS (Disclosure and Barring Service).

The charge for the service is £13.90 per hour, and any surplus we make goes back into funding our free services for carers.

Between April 2015 and March 2016, 12 Support Workers supported a total of 39 families and the service is growing.

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Rhiannon Bernard is one of our Support Workers. She writes:

“Since I started working as a Support Worker for

Carers’ Support (Bexley), I have met many amazing

people and it is a pleasure to work and support them.

I believe it is a great charity that supports people in

many ways. It is a privilege to work with a fantastic

team who work hard. They are always there for

support and advice, and they care so much about the

people we support.”

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Carers’ Support (Bexley)The Manor House, Grassington Road,

Sidcup, Kent DA14 6BYTelephone: 020 8302 8011

Fax: 020 8300 3002Eamil: info@carerssupport.org