December 2023

All I want for Christmas is… TIME!

Even five minutes to yourself can make a positive impact on your day

If you are juggling caring, family, work and/or running a house, time comes in very short supply. There never seems to be enough time to complete everything and usually the tasks that drop off the ‘to do’ list are the most important – your own health and wellbeing!

This Christmas, why not ask Santa for a little ‘me time’? If friends and family ask what you would like for Christmas – be honest…

“Any gift would be lovely, but what I really need is TIME! An hour or two break, an evening out, even some time to have a nap or a stroll along the beach! Maybe you could gift me your time, come and take over for a couple of hours – so I can have some me time, without worry or stress.”

If friends and family are not able to help, maybe you can give yourself the gift of time. It could be that you promise yourself 5 minutes at the start of the day to sit down quietly with a lovely cup of tea – before everyone else is awake/needing your attention. Maybe it’s half an hour reading your favourite book or doing some mindfulness activities.

The gift of time, even five minutes to yourself, can make a huge impact on your day. Clearing your head, focusing your mind, relaxing your body and recharging your batteries. The perfect Christmas present

Introducing a New Member of Our Team

Always a smile and a warm welcome as you walk through the door…

First Name: Olivia

What do you do at the Carers Centre? Carers Centre Administrator.

What do you like about working at the Carers Centre? The people – staff and visitors.

Name three of your character traits? Resilient, resourceful and adaptable.

What do you enjoy doing when you are not working? Running and socialising.

Christmas Carers break Sessions 2023

Carers Rights Day Events 2023

Discovering diverse support for parent carers in Portsmouth

In support of Carers Rights Day 2023, Thursday 23rd November, parent carers from across the city were invited to attend a wonderful collaborative event hosted by Portsmouth Carers Service. The aim of the event was to showcase the wide range of support for parent carers from all communities and minority groups and encourage them to think about their own wellbeing.

Portsmouth is a diverse city with residents from many cultures and religions, it is important to embrace these differences, be respectful and learn from each other. It is also important to celebrate the similarities that bond us – like being Portsmouth residents or parent carers.

The drop-in event was filled with support groups and organisations who came with a wealth of resources and information for parent carers. There was chance to speak to all the representatives, many of whom are carers themselves, in a safe, non-judgemental environment.

The centre was filled with conversation, laughter and a wonderful sense of community and support. Asking parent carers what support they need, is there something missing? Overwhelmingly, the message was to listen. For professionals to be respectful of the different cultures and religions and to take the time to ask what is appropriate when arranging a person’s health/care.

Portsmouth Carers Service will continue to work with community groups and organisations to build on the vital feedback shared at the event. If you would like to share your thoughts/feedback about support for carers, please fill in the Careers Feedback Survey: https://portsmouthcarersservice.co.uk/our-service/carers-feedback-survey/

If you are a professional and you or your team would like to join the discussion and help improve support for carers in Portsmouth. Please contact Portsmouth Carers Service.
Call: 02392 851 864. Email: carercentre@portsmouthcc.gov.uk

What’s on at the Carers Centre?

Coming up:

Every Tuesday 10am to 11.30am – Wellbeing Within: mindfulness and relaxation for carers. Drop-in session, no booking necessary.
Every Friday 9.30am to 12.30pm – Dementia Care Drop-in: with Zena, Remind Dementia Nurse Specialist. Drop-in session, no booking necessary.
Saturday 6th January 11am to 1pm – Saturday Chatterday: Join Jayne and our wonderful volunteers for a warm welcome and friendly conversation. A sausage bap and refreshments are provided. No booking necessary.
Tuesday 9th January 12pm to 2pm – Carers & Cake: new drop-in support group for all unpaid carers. In association with SEND Butterflies. Drop-in session, no booking necessary.
Wednesday 10th January (2nd Wednesday of the month) 9.30am to 12.30pm – Advice Portsmouth drop-in: debt, benefit and housing advice. Drop-in session, no booking necessary.
Monday 15th January 1.30pm to 3pm – Cuppa and Catch Up: drop-in coffee afternoon, chat to a member of our team and find out more about support for carers.

#CarersCount – You Said… We Did…

This year, we have taken the feedback from our Carers Count event in November 2022 and been working towards providing and improving support in the 3 priority areas that you told us were important to you

Carers Breaks

Support

Being Heard

We have developed our carers break programme to offer a wider range of activities including, Saturday, wellbeing, and craft activities.

713 places were attended by Carers on 137 Carers Break Sessions.

Our respite bed at Harry Sotnick House has enabled 24 carers to have 200 nights of respite since March 2023.

Our carers break fund has supported 255 carers to take a break from caring in the way they want when they want to.

Sharing information, we have continued to share information on events and activities for carers in wide variety of formats, online, on social media, in person.

Over 950 carers regularly receive our newsletter.

Our social media posts have been seen over 50,000 times.

Our team has provided one to one support to over 1000 carers over the past year.

We have offered a range of training, information and drop in opportunities to keep carers informed including: first aid, moving and handling, emergency planning, legal and financial planning, Parkinson’s, Dementia and mental health.

We have been out and about talking and listening to carers we have met over 800 carers at our awareness and information events throughout the city.

19 carers have provided feedback on our service by completing our new Carers Feedback Survey.

We continue to collaborate with health and care organisations throughout the city to promote carer identification and access to support and the right of carers to be recognised and included in the care plans of the people you care for.

As we move into 2024 our Team at Portsmouth Carers Service would like to hear from you. Please share your ideas of what would be helpful to you in your caring role and if you would like to be involved in developing our service. You can contact us directly or you can fill in our Carers Feedback Survey via our website.

The survey can be found here: Carer’s Feedback Survey – Portsmouth Carers Service – if you would like a printed copy of the survey, please let us know.

Call: 02392 851 864 or email: carerscentre@portsmouthcc.gov.uk

When a Robin Appears a Loved One is Near

Support for people experiencing grief or caring for someone who is bereaved

Christmas can be a difficult time for those of us who are missing someone special. Whether it is the first Christmas without them, or many years have passed since you were together, Christmas can be a time when feelings of grief may be particularly intense.

It can help to talk to friends or family about how you are feeling but it can also be difficult to find the right words. Simple things can help to lift our spirits and remind us of warm memories, like a visit from a robin. Their striking red feathers always brighten a winter’s day. Many people take comfort in the saying ‘when a robin appears a loved one is near’. This has added meaning when we are grieving the loss of someone special.

If you are struggling with grief, or supporting someone who is bereaved, reaching out for support can help. Here are some services which you may find helpful:

Bereavementcare.uk – offers both local and virtual support https://bereavementcare.uk
Rowans Living Well Centre – offers bereavement support for families known to the service https://www.rowanshospice.co.uk/care/bereavement-services/
Sue Ryder – helpful advice for coping with grief at Christmas https://www.sueryder.org/how-we-can-help/bereavement-information/support-for-yourself/christmas

Get Involved and Make a Difference

A Renal Specialist Pharmacist is looking for: volunteers to discuss medicines for people living with kidney disease

Cathy Pogson is interested in polypharmacy for people living with kidney disease. Polypharmacy is being asked to take lots of different regular medicines, five or more a day.

People living with kidney disease may live with other healthcare conditions and see other healthcare professionals. Each health professional adds treatment, often leading to more medicines. Some people have their medicines reviewed by a healthcare professional. Sometimes this is a pharmacist, in a structured assessment.

Cathy has looked at the evidence for structured medicine reviews for people living with kidney disease. She would like to share the findings of this research.

Cathy is keen to hear from patients and carers of patients, living with kidney disease, stage 4 or 5. She will discuss the research findings (about 10mins), and then will discuss what you think of this, what it is like taking medicines, and any things which you think would help.

The overall time commitment for this opportunity will be approximately 30 minutes.

If you, or the person you care for, is living with kidney disease stage 4 or 5, are not on the transplant waiting list and would like to take part, please email Cathy: cathy.pogson@nhs.net