Our Carers Rights Day event on Friday 30 November in Selly Oak saw the biggest turnout to date of carers and families. Thank you to everyone who attended and who gave such positive feedback about your experiences. The event was filled with family-friendly day activities and wellbeing offers, as well as the chance to find out about carer information from some of our partners. Children with additional needs, and their families, enjoyed test riding Midland Mencap’s brand new Parkride adapted bikes. Thank you also too all the carers and families who joined us in Sutton Coldfield to participate in our Carers Rights Day event in North Birmingham.
We also shared three new developments to improve support and services for local Carers on Carers Rights Day:
Our new Booklet of Services for Birmingham Carers is packed full of useful information and advice for local carers, including all the support and services you can access via Birmingham Carers Hub and partners; health and wellbeing tips, and information about other local services as well as welfare and entitlement information. Download your own copy of the booklet here or receive a free hard copy when you undertake your Carers Assessment with Birmingham Carers Hub. This booklet is part of the National Lottery funded Ageing Better programme set up by the Big Lottery Fund.
Carers who joined us in Selly Oak were some of the first to hear about the launch of the new Forward Carers Unsung Heroes campaign, part of the Ageing Better in Birmingham project. Unsung Heroes is a two-year project to raise awareness of and understanding about the experiences of family carers across Birmingham, so you gain the respect and recognition they deserve. Our first featured hero is Sylvia . You can find out about the campaign and how you can get involved here. Look out for lots of positive case studies and stories about the essential role that carers play in keeping families and communities together in the coming months. www.facebook.com/BirminghamCarersHub/
And finally, University Hospitals Birmingham (Queen Elizabeth, Heartlands, Solihull and Good Hope hospitals, and the Birmingham Chest Clinic) launched a new Carer Pack as part of the support they offer to help carers supporting loved-ones, both in a hospital setting and in their caring role generally. Guest beds are available in all four hospitals, to allow a carer to stay with the person they care for. Contact the Carer Co-ordinators to find out more:
Queen Elizabeth Hospital Birmingham (QEHB)
0121 371 4491
Heartlands, Good Hope and Solihull Hospitals:
0121 424 3945
carers@heartofengland.nhs.uk
