This Carers Week (8-14 June) Devon & Somerset Fire & Rescue Service as part of the Fire Kills campaign is reaching out to local carers and reminding them that help is available to keep them, and the people they care for safe from fire.
A recent survey showed that more than half of the people who had tested someone else’s smoke alarm had done so for an older family member. But there are many other issues a carer must think about – from the extra time it takes for people with difficulty moving to escape a fire in the home, to the added risks of flammable equipment such as...
A new information dementia drop in centre has been opened at Topsham Pharmacy and is open on Thursdays between 10am and noon.
Run by volunteers, it is somewhere people to come to find out what support maybe available to them and generally answer any questions they may have on dementia.
Sallie Rutledge who runs The Mede and Seaward House (holiday and day support for people with dementia) in Topsham says: "There's little help at times for the carer and they can feel very isolated.
"We are hoping carers will come to us and tell us what they need....
A holiday home in Topsham called The Mede that supports people living with dementia and offers a specialist activity club next door, was recently selected as a finalist in the business category for The Alzheimer's Society "Dementia Friendly Awards" .
With recent news that the number of people with dementia could triple by 2050, there is an ever more pressing need for facilities that offer support.
Sallie Rutledge, mother of three, opened The Mede five years’ ago to enable carers and their loved ones to have holidays, after her own father in law was diagnosed...
Visitor registration is now open at www.childcareshow.co.uk for this new event. It will be a unique forum for educators and child carers in the southwest to discover more about the hot topics and issues in early years education and childcare.
The South West Childcare & Education Show is an essential two-day free exhibition for teachers, head teachers, senior leaders, child minders, nursery owners/managers, childcare workers and parents, in fact anyone involved in early years education and childcare. It will be the perfect forum to meet experts and peers from the region, with an...
Young carers from Exeter, East Devon and Teignbridge have been treated to a grand Summer Adventure thanks to student volunteers from the University of Exeter Students’ Guild volunteering group, Community Action.
Running from 4-15 August, 70 young carers aged between eight and 15 are enjoying a welcome break from the challenges and responsibilities of their daily lives and the chance to make friends with other youngsters.
Trained and DBS-checked student volunteers returned to Exeter during the summer vacation to work in partnership with charity Westbank to provide time and...
A new project offering one-to-one support to carers and family members of people with drink or drug problems is looking to recruit more volunteers in Exeter and East Devon.
A joint initiative between Devon Carers and Recoverylink CIC, You First is a peer-support buddying scheme that matches people who are struggling to cope with caring for a family member, relative or friend with drink or drug problems with someone who has experienced similar circumstances but found the resilience to manage their own lives successfully despite the difficulties.
A new service to support carers of people with alcohol or drug problems in Devon launches this autumn following a report highlighting the difficulties they face finding help and advice.
The new service is a joint initiative between Recoverylink CIC, which runs a recovery peer-mentoring programme for alcohol and drug dependents leaving treatment, and the Devon Carers service. It is funded by Devon County Council and Devon’s two NHS local Clinical Commissioning Groups.
It will include a peer-support buddying scheme, which matches people who are struggling to cope with caring...
Devon Carers, the information, support and short breaks service for carers, has been accepted as a Network Partner of Carers Trust.
Carers Trust, a new charity formed from The Princess Royal Trust for Carers and Crossroads Care, work to improve support and recognition for carers. They have a network of 300 partners who work together to ensure help and support is available for half a million carers across the UK.
To become a partner Devon Carers had to demonstrate they are carer-led and carer focussed, and they provide high quality adult and young carers services. The Carers...
National disability charity Vitalise says that the shock findings of a new Alzheimer’s Society report into residential care for people with Alzheimer’s and dementia point to an even deeper problem.
Responding to the Alzheimer’s Society’s new report, ‘Low Expectations’, which found that only 41% of relatives of loved ones with Alzheimer’s or dementia said they enjoyed a good quality of life in residential care, Vitalise’s research has revealed that the problem extends to people with other disabilities and their carers too.
Vitalise’s research found that 6 out of 10 carers (...
New poll findings from YouGov commissioned by charities Grandparents Plus, the Family and Parenting Institute and Family Lives show huge backing for better financial and practical help for grandparents raising children because their parents can’t look after them.
81% of adults in the South west of England think grandparents and other relatives bringing up a child should receive practical help from their local council, and 71% think they should receive a financial allowance. This rises to 84% of adults who think grandparents should get a financial allowance if they are on...
