During Carers week 2024, I attended and supported a number of Carer events. This blog post is about the event held at Sutton Carers who do a lot for unpaid and young carers for the borough of Sutton.
Sutton Carers provides the following and more for unpaid carers in the borough
Support groups Information and Advice Wellbeing advice Specialist carer support for dementia carers Specialist carer support for end of life carers Specialist carer support for Mental health carers Parent carer support Money advice
Sutton Carers even has a blog section off their website, I have noticed they are often busy campaigning for carers during awareness events. I would like to thank Sutton Carers for including my video for Mental Health Awareness Week 2024
For carers week 2024, Sutton Carers held a carers day at their centre over at Benhill House located at 12-14 Benhill Avenue in Sutton.
Sutton Carers have a range of advice and information on support services aimed at carers, which you can see below
I spoke to a number of staff about the activities provided and was introduced to quite a few rooms. Most importantly I spoke to a number of carers to listen about their caring role, although most felt relaxed and were happy to forget about their worries.
After reading up on a few services, I took the opportunity for a free health check.
I was given the all clear, but I see the importance of having a health check because all too easily, carers can neglect their own health needs because they might concentrate on providing care for the ‘cared for’. Sometimes the stress of caring can also lead to physical health issues, so its worth getting a free health check if you are a carer.
Carers week 2024 is drawing to a close. There were a few carer centre events that I attended in order to support and raise awareness of unpaid carers. One of the events was from the Ealing Carers Partnership event.
Ealing Carers Partnership is a new service supporting adult unpaid carers in the Borough of Ealing by providing Wellbeing activities and respite care. The service is funded by Ealing Council.
It was with great pleasure to be invited to support Ealing Carers Partnership and help raise awareness for the borough of Ealing.
London Borough of Ealing
Ealing Carers Partnership is a collaboration between Harlington Care, Carer’s Trust Hillingdon and Ealing and Hounslow Community Voluntary Service. As mentioned from the poster above, Ealing Carers Partnership provided 2 carer events.
I supported the event at Sycamore Lodge with my Carers Stall.
We had a number of other stalls at the Carers event. The stall next to me was the diabetes awareness stall. My late mother suffered with diabetes, so the stall meant a lot to me. I must thank Diabetes UK for handing out a lot of leaflets for me to promote.
We also had a stall from Dementia Concern. Dementia Concern has been providing support services for people with dementia and their carers in the London Borough of Ealing since 1982.
Dementia concern is a unique charity with specialist expertise. They have developed our knowledge over many years by working closely with local partners, GP surgeries and wider health organisations, such as the West London NHS Trust.
The direct services offered are:
Dementia link workers supporting acute health needs Information and advice through dementia advisers Weekend social clubs at two venues Community support service for people with dementia living alone Dementia cafés for patients and their carers Activities for carers
Another stall I visited was the Ealing Special Educational Needs and Disability Information and Advice Support Service (SENDIASS) which offers free, confidential, accurate and impartial advice and support to families living in Ealing with a child up to the age of 25 who has special educational needs or a disability (SEND).
We also had a stall from the Ealing Community Partners. ECP is led by West London NHS Trust, and all services in ECP are delivered under the direction of West London NHS Trust.
This stall was the Care coordination service which aims to keeps patients with complex health and care needs well at home.
Energy and payment support services
There were also stalls providing information to help tackle the cost of living. One stall was from the National energy action.
National Energy Action is the national charity working to end fuel poverty in England, Wales and Northern Ireland. Find out more about the challenge we face, the difference we make, and the difference you can make.
The other energy support stall was from Green Doctor.
Green Doctor offer free, impartial advice to help people take control of your bills, save energy where possible in the home, and access other services and initiatives available. They can provide different kinds of support, whether that’s advice on paying off debt with energy or water companies, or spotting other concerns for a referral to other services.
Other stalls present at event
During the event, we all were invited to speak about our stalls. I spoke on providing information from Carers UK, Macmillan Cancer Support, Parkinsons UK and other carer support information
Ealing carers partnership event allowed me to read a carer awareness poem from my book. I also presented the carers centre with my poetry book and signed it for them.
All in all the event turned out very well. My carer stall was very busy with visiting carers asking advice and information.
Here is my latest blog post from my carers website. This site focuses on events, thoughts and awareness of unpaid carers, especially those who care for someone with mental illness or suffering through cancer.
For Carers Week 2024, I was back over at the Maudsley site based in the London borough of Southwark. South London & Maudsely were doing a special follow up event from their Carers conference held last year for 2023. During the conference, many carers contributed to a number of poems which has led to the a carer poetry book.
The carer poetry book event took place over at Maudsleys NHS training and events centre, The Ortus.
Over the years, I have attended many mental health and carer events, including attending meetings and engagement events. It was with great pleasure to attend a poetry book launch which was driven by carers from the boroughs of Lambeth, Southwark, Lewisham and Croydon.
The event was opened by Gabrielle Richards who is the Head of Inclusion, Recover and Professional Head of Occupational Therapy and Allied Health Professionals at South London & Maudsley. Gabrielle also oversees Triangle of Care at the NHS mental health trust.
Gabrielle was joined by carer Faith Smith and Ann Morgan who led on the ideas for poetry inclusion from carers who attended the Family and Carers listening event
Faith and Ann read a number of poems while commenting on the poetry books development. We also heard from Rob Frowen winner of the 2017 Carer of the Year Award and Chair of Lancashire & South Cumbria NHS Foundation Trust Service User and Carer Council.
You can also view Ann reading a poem below.
A large number of carers also took turns to read some poems including carer advocate Brenda.
We were also joined by Carer and poet Jo Lambet and myself who also promoted the importance of poetry and how carers can connect and tell their experiences through creativity. Later on during the event, I spoke about the importance of poetry and how this can help carers relate to each other while exploring their experiences of caring and sharing this with others.
I also did a spoken word section from the poetry book I released in 2023, which is being edited into a new edition to include poems from unpaid carers around the country
You can view the section of myself and Jo performing some poetry and my talk about the importance of including carers to give space to poems.
I enjoyed the carer poetry book launch event and hope the book can make history or at least show how carers over in South London can be included to experess their exprience of care via poetry.
Hello everyone. I am Matthew McKenzie, Carer Activist, poet and author. Volunteer for Carers UK, Carers Trust and Macmillan Cancer support to raise awareness of unpaid carers using my lived experience of caring.
At the time of this blog post it is Carers Week 2024. Carers Week 2024 could not arrive at such a better time, especially with an election happening.
For Carers Week 2024, the theme is “Putting Carers on the Map”. I know many carers are facing so many challenges in their role. This could be down to difficultly providing unpaid care, getting engagement from health & Social care services or even being identified as carers.
Many carers up and down the country can be easily hidden, they carry on with their caring role unaware of the support that can be offered to them.
With an election due to take place, the chance to put carers on the map has never been greater. It is an excellent chance to use our voices, experience of care and connections to continue to raise awareness.
So I am counting on many to help raise that much needed awareness of Carers Week. If you are a carer, health professional or someone with lived experience, it might be worth looking out for events from 10th of June to the 16th of June.
I will continue to write and promote carer events nationwide and do all I can to help raise awareness of carers, I hope you can as well. You can sign a pledge on the Carers Week website or you can run an event yourself. There is nothing too small to place carers on the map.
Poem for Carers Week
For carers week to share It helps to be aware That if you really care Listen up for your own welfare
Its best you are not ignored Noted a carer to be on record For support is your reward So social care back onboard
For Carers week is here With events to promote and shareb Its worth attending, just be there To learn about unpaid care
So please dont be ignored It something you cant afford Support and help explored Faith in the system restored
Southwark Carers has been preparing for Carers Week 2024. If you are caring for someone unpaid in the borough of Southwark, check out the latest activities at Southwark Carers.
Welcome to another update of an event for carers. This blog is of the special event produced by carers for unpaid carers. The event was developed by unpaid carers Faith Smith and Annette Davis.
The point of the event was a chance for carers who care for someone unpaid to come together and showcase a talent to link carers together. This was a special event because it was produce by unpaid carers for unpaid carers. Both Annette and Faith felt carers have something to offer that can bring the community together. After viewing an exhibition, both carers felt inspired to develop an event which took some months of planning and organising.
I have known Annette and Faith a very long time and we often collaborate when there is a chance. So with the support of Carer network lead Laura Sheridan at Cygnet, we felt this would be a chance for Carers of London to learn from each other and develop confidence to share their talents.
For the first ever Positive Talents show took place at Cygnet ChurchHill hospital over in Lambeth. The location was very easy to get to, with good transport links.
There was also a good turn out as we got support from unpaid carers wanting to attend to reduce isolation and also carers who wanted to showcase their talents.
Annette and Faith opened the positive talent show with an explanation of to why carers should be given the chance to show off any skills or talents. It is just a matter of being given the chance.
We were then shown a video of a carer performing poetry. The poem was performed by Brenda Onatade who could not be present. However you can see Brenda perform her poetry below.
Next we had a video from Jo Lambert who also could not attend, however Faith gave a great talk about the video which you can see below
You can see Jo Lambert’s video called “Fairy lights of Hope” below
We then had a talk by Annette on Looking after yourself. Her talk was titled LAM “looking after ME”
As being a poet, I wanted to showcase the importance of carers recognising their talents and performed a poem called “What helps me”
I also did a learn and share session for carers to relate to the poem, which you can view below.
There was then a focus on positive wellbeing messages that were shared by the audience of carers. We all shared what was positive for our own health.
.After my poetry performance we then moved onto a comedy routine by another carer called Jo.
The routine helped destigmatize mental ill health as sometimes the only option for difficult challenges is laughter. You can see the comedy section below.
Next was a game of charades, where carers can feel welcome and join in the activities
Then next was refreshments and food along with networking. The food was prepared by Cygnet chief Titilayo
For the 2nd half of the Talent show. We had a presentation from Southwark Wellbeing hub on their focus for Black carers. There is a launch of the Black Carers Project, which I have included the poster below.
Then we have a dance section from carer Jackie Christie, where you can see the performance below
After the lovely dance show, we had another comedy routine, this time performed by Faith Smith, again the video is placed below.
Next was my 2nd poetry performance on the importance of setting a legacy.
The last two performance were led by Annette who did a few song sessions
I felt the event turned out very well since this was the first ever carer talent show. We all shared from each other and felt that we were part of something very big. Thanks for the support from the following carer centres who also helped to promote and connect carers to each other. These being Lambeth carers hub, Sutton Carers and Imago community and a special thanks to Cygnet for hosting the event for carers, plus providing food.
All who took part were awarded certificate, so well done to them.
Given the chance, carers can do some amazing things for the community. Carers can be supported to showcase their skills and talents.
Welcome to another blog from carer activist Matthew McKenzie. As a Cygnet carer ambassador, I will usually blog updates of the carer events they do, especially the ones I participate in. I think it is important carers can learn what happens at those events, so they can try attend for future events.
Obviously Cygnet runs other events to promote mental wellbeing, learning experiences and engagement, but I tend to focus on carers, so most blogs will be on carer networking and events. There will be times where I report on other carer events from NHS trusts, which helps on engaging with partners and the caring community.
The event this blog focuses on is the Cygnet Hospital Maidstone event. That took place on the 20th of April 2024. The carer event was the first event I attended from my recent honours recognition ceremony that took place in London over at Tower Bridge, but I will blog about that one much later on.
Cygnet tries very hard to engage with families, friends and carers who loved ones are using their services. So Cygnet hospital Maidstone put on an excellent event to showcase what they do for unpaid carers. As mentioned the event was run on satuday to give carers a chance to attend, since during the week this might not be so easy due to work commitments.
Both Julian and myself was welcomed by the friendly Cygnet staff at the hospital, I checked out the hospital’s carers board and then we proceeded to the board room for the event, which was laid out with carer information, policies and advice.
It was not long before some carers and cygnet staff attended and soon the event was opened by Hospital General Manager Alison McCulloch.
Alison explained the proceedings for the day which was
A set of expert talks A chance to network with attendees Launch and then a tour of the facilites
Cygnet Maidstone is a very large hospital with several wards. They have their own Healthy dietician room, prayer room, A room to learn music and skills, recovery college. Plus they have an indoor physical exercise room and outdoor sports area. There was so many facilities I dont think I can remember them all, but I will explain more later on.
Going back to the “Expert talk” section of the event. The first speaker was Louisa Powell who is also a hospital manager. Lousia explained why she became a mental health nurse due to lived experince of a carer. She is still a carer, but juggles her work to do as much as she can for those going through mental ill health crisis. Louisa cares passionately about the profession and engaging with families and carers.
When then had an explaination of what Cygnet was doing for carers. This was presented by Julian De Takats who is a carer and cygnet carer ambassador. Julian talked about his lived experience as a carer and why it is so important carers know what their mental health service provider was doing for them and their loved ones using the services.
Julian explained the following
What is means to be a carer The importance of identifying carers Cygnets offer to carers being Handbooks, welcome packs, carer passport and consistant contact
Julian also touched on the Carers Trust standards called “The Triangle of Care”. This is something Cygnet has worked very hard to archieve as several cygnet hospitals have gained their first star acceditation
We then has a talk from an addictions expert and how carers can be supported. We were even taken to the addictions centre where he explained many of the resources that help patients come to terms with addictions.
The next presentation was on the Special Wellbeing Team and what they provide at the hospital. This includes healthy eating, physical activity, involvement in developing th care and treatment plan and more.
We next presentation was on consent to share and discharg planning for Patients and their carers. This was presented by Paula Tappenden who is the Head of social work and Safeguarding lead. She explained the process for patients being asked if they are happy to share information with their carers.
Paula also talked about patient rights and how carers can still be involved even if confidentiality becomes a difficult process. Use of best interest meetings can help carers become involved if the patient lacks capacity to involve loved ones. Paula also touched on the importance of the Care Act 2014, which carers should be aware of. The last part of the presentation was on discharge planning and how it should involved carers.
I then presented on carer empowerment and why I feel carers should not only be supported, but empowered to connect. I did not talk much about my carer story, but how people should be encouraged to network with the community and take wellbeing out of the hospital and into the community. Obviously my focus was on carers connecting with each other. Due to many of my carer groups, this is what I am known for. I do not mean carer support groups, but carers learning from each other and learning more about services.
As an author and campaigner, I have written many books to share the knowledge and help raise awareness of mental health carers. The mental health system is complex, under resourced and every changing. It is so important families and carers do not leave things to chance. They should not wait to be offered access to engagement groups and learn to use feedback to help change things. Carers should take every chance to join their local carers centre, national carer support e.g. Carers UK and Carers Trust, plus learn to hold to account especially cygnet hospitals, integrated care boards, local authority carer stategies and keeping an eye on government policies.
I read out 2 of my poems to promote the difficult challenging experience of the carer and the poem on carer networking. Sometimes carers are in such a desperate situation that things cannot be solved, they just want to be listened to and also connect. However the carer situation does not always have to be hopeless, with the use of activism then carers can become empowered and focus their energies for greater change
We then had a networking session, some lovely lunch and a tour of the facilities.
All in all, I enjoyed being a part of the event. As a carer it is empowering to help promote how services can support the family and carer. I expect there will be challenges, but we are all in this together to promote a caring community, with better health and wellbeing for all.
Thanks to the welcoming staff at Cygnet Maidstone hospital.
Welcome back to another blog post by carer activist and Carers UK volunteer Matthew McKenzie. This blog post is focused on the upcoming event aimed at black communities to address Parkinsons.
The event will be hosted by Parkinsons UK who fight hard to raise awareness of parkinsons and promote better treatment and services for those affected by Parkinsons disease.
Parkinsons disease does not discriminate, although parkinsons usually affect those at an older age, it can affect others from any age, race or social standing. Parkinsons is a devasting illness and can easily put a strain on families and whole communities. This includes those from the black community
To increase awareness of how Parkinsons can affect the black community, we must come together to learn and discuss what steps we can taken to reduce the impact of the disease. It is not only the impact on the person diagnosed with Parkinsons, but also the family and carer trying to improve quality of life.
Taken from Parkinsons UK website. Parkinson’s is a progressive neurological condition. This means that it causes problems in the brain and gets worse over time.
People with Parkinson’s don’t have enough of the chemical dopamine in their brain because some of the nerve cells that make it have stopped working. Around 153,000 people live with Parkinson’s in the UK. And it’s the fastest growing neurological condition in the world.
The event Parkinsons UK is running is called “Addressing Parkinsons with black communities” This will take place online for both Wednesday 8th May and also Saturday 11th of May from 12pm – 4 pm.
I am proud to take part for the event on the 11th of May where I will cover how Parkinsons can affect carers and what steps carers can take to reduce the impact.
Welcome back to an update of another carers event. This time my blog is on the Carers UK members’ conference for 2024. The carers event took place on the 19th of March 2024 and was held at Woburn House over at Tavistock Square.
The event was sponsored by Regina Blitz, which will continue to support Carers UK’s Care for a Cuppa online sessions
This event is always something that I am looking forward to. Just for those who do not know. Carers UK is a national charity that supports and fights for carer’s rights.
Caring for someone unpaid although is a rewarding experience can also come with many challenges. If you are caring full time, then it is hard to pay your way on other costs, which could be bills, food, travel or even equipment to help provide care. The more difficult the condition of someone you are caring for, the more strain the carer will take on and this leads on to the importance of organisations that lobby for change and raise carer awareness.
At this particular conference we carers who have joined as a member to Carers UK and want to hear what the charity is doing for carers. Such events are recommended to attend because you can network, learn of updates and get a chance to ask questions or state your views.
The Carers UK members conference was also hosted online since there are carers who are too far or were caring and could not travel.
As I arrived at the venue, I could hear classical music and noticed that Orchestra Vitae was playing at the main hall. I felt relaxed and welcomed by the Carers UK staff who greeted everyone and also asked about how my travel to the venue turned out. I had a lovely breakfast at the start of the event and talked to a few people at the Carers UK stands. I spoke to representatives of Carers Scotland, Carers Wales and Carers Ireland.
It was not long before I spoke to carers from my own area where I voluntarly run my carer groups. It was great to spend time with those who understand the caring role. I also met many of the Carers UK staff who were also looking forward to the day. Everyone was relaxed and among friends and comrades.
We heard from many speakers including
• Nick Baird, Chair, Carers UK • Helen Walker, Chief Executive, Carers UK • Emily Kenway • Emily Holzhausen OBE, Director of Policy and Public Affairs, Carers UK • Claire Morgan, Director of Carers Wales, Carers UK • Richard Meade, Director of Carers Scotland and Carers NI, Carers UK
There were many highlights of the conference, especially the importance of carers recognising they do have the power to change things, especially with the election coming up. It is so important carers hold MPs to account on what they are doing to help unpaid carers have a better future.
Another highlight was the carers panel where we heard from carers experiences and the impact of the caring role. The panel was led by Emily Kenway who is an author of many books who also researches, writes and speaks about thought-provoking social issues.
After a lovely lunch there were breakout sessions which carers could choose to attend. The following sessions are listed below.
Membership and Support Carers UK offers
Implications of Carers Leave Act 2023 for Working Carers
Positive Poetry
Cartoon Drawing
Looking after yourself
I attended the membership and support for Carers session as being a member, I am often interested in updates provided. We got to hear of the latest initiatives, available online groups and issues affecting carers. We also got to hear from carer member Hitesh Daudia who also is a carer activist and has an excellent website aimed at providing information resources for carers.
I also had a spot at the conference due to being a long standing member of Carers UK since 2013. My role at Carers UK as a volunteer has grown as my profile raising carer awareness has grown. With Michael Shann who is Head of Carers support at Carers UK, I spoke to the audience of the importance of growing the carers network. It is vital that we all work towards growing the carers movement. This could be through sharing our stories, speaking to leaders who have the power to shape our lives, raising awareness or engaging with other carers.
The Conference finished with several songs from Matt Hill who is a accomplished singer songwriter. Matt sung songs that promoted the difficulties carers face. I felt the songs brought carers together as they all recognised the common struggles and felt this event was a place of belonging.
Through our lived experience, it is so important carers are included in the political agenda. We all must work together for a better future for unpaid carers and this can be done through Carers UK.
If you want to be a member of Carers UK one of the biggest national charities fighting for the carer cause, please check out the link below. You can also volunteer at Carers UK in a role that suits your caring situation.
A brief update of a recent Cygnet Carers, families and friends network event. As a Cygnet carers network ambassador. I often try to engage with families and carers whose loved ones use the services of Cygnet. For those who do not already know, Cygnet Health Care is an independent provider of health and social care services for young people and adults with mental health needs, acquired brain injuries, eating disorders, autism and learning disabilities within the UK.
Cygnet aims to connect to families and carers through there carer network events, triangle of care guidelines and carer offers through strategies and policies.
The carer network event took place at Cygnet Wast Hills over in Birmingham. Cygnet Wast Hills provides support for 21 individuals with autism, learning disabilities and complex needs. The team can also support individuals who may be detained under the Mental Health Act, as well as those who have complex behaviours, or who have significant difficulties with social engagement.
As you can see Cygnet provides the best service it can for patients, but there needs to be a focus on families and friends who are providing unpaid care. So I was glad to play my part in networking with cygnet friends and families.
The journey to the cygnet site although long was pleasant as I enjoyed watching the scenary while travelling. I met up with fellow cygnet carer ambassodor Julian de Takets as we discussed what to present for the event. With great support from Laura who is Cygnet’s carer lead and service improvement manager, I felt we would make an excellent impression for the carers who attended.
The team at Cygnet Wast Hill provided the best decorated experience I have seen for a very long time. They showed their dedication to the carer network event, I am very proud of them and I am sure many carers who attended were also impressed.
I was also happy to see carer information and updates on the service boards around the hospital site.
To open the event was a great experience as I read some of my poems in order for carers to relate to the caring experience. I asked questions at the carers and staff to help raise the awareness of carers.
We then had a presentation from Philip Winterbottom who is Head of Safeguarding at Cygnet Health Care Phil has worked as a nurse and manager for 20 years in various mental health and social care settings. In the last few years, Phil has held dedicated safeguarding roles on a national level.
Next was the networking with carers as we stopped the presentations for lunch. It was great to hear carers feedback and share experiences.
Next up was Kate Mercer who runs a training organisation, ‘Black Belt Advocacy’ that offers support and formal qualifications to independent advocates including a National Advocacy Conference each year. She also acts as a family advocate at Cygnet, supporting families who have a loved one in mental health settings. It is always a welcome sight to see Kate present as many in the audience finds her entertaining.
We then heard from the Occupational therapists Heather Davis & Tracy Lambert. Carers wanted to know what occupational therapists do and how they can support families and carers.
Last but not least to present was Julian De Takats who now has a focus on the triangle of care and setting up carer network events. Julian presented his carer experience and the impact it has had on him over the years. Julian feels the experience provides him the tools to help cygnet reach other carers.
