NIHR CLAHRC Greater Manchester Pledges Support for National Carers Week
NIHR CLAHRC Greater Manchester has joined thousands of organisations and individuals across the country this week in pledging its support for carers as part of national carers week 2017.
The aim of the awareness week is to help build communities which support carers to look after their loved ones well, while recognising that they are individuals with needs of their own - which is the focus of a great deal of our health and social care research. Since 2014, we have worked with a range of organisations, including charities and public sector teams on a national and local basis, undertaking research to help raise awareness of, identify and address the daily challenges and needs of carers, as well as those they care for. Through our End of Life programme, working with organisations such as Dimbleby Cancer Care, Hospice UK, Macmillan Cancer Care and Marie Curie, the End-of-Life Priority Setting project and the translation of the Carer Support Needs Assessment Tool (CSNAT) online training - supporting all carers, family and professional, has been a key priority. The Organising Support for Carers of Stroke Survivors (OSCARSS) study, being delivered in partnership with the Stroke Association is our latest research project to look at the support needs of carers.
As well as being the subject of the study, carers have also played an important role in its design and rollout through the OSCARSS Carer Research User Group (RUG), whose members have experience of stroke and caring for a family member who has had a stroke. You can find out more here. “Carers make an outstanding and invaluable contribution to society each and every day”, said Sue Wood, NIHR CLAHRC GM’s Operations and Projects Manager. “Much of what we do seeks to highlight what society and health and social care organisations can do to ensure carers feel recognised, supported and valued.
Carers’ week is always a great opportunity to help spread awareness of the important role carers play and highlight some of the issues and challenges they face, often on a daily basis. “We would urge others to visit the Carers Week 2017 website and pledge your support for local carers in any way you feel you can.” In addition to working directly with a number of carers as part of our focused Patient and Public involvement Group at CLAHRC GM, through many of our research programmes, we also work with a range of dedicated carer support groups, including:
You can find out more about our various research projects involving carers here and via the resources section of this website. You may also be interested in a number of our related blogs, including:
- When Dimbleby came to breakfast; talking end of life care at the BBC
- Developing Benchmark Standards to Assess and Support Carers at End-of-Life
Date Published: 15/06/2017