Why Unpaid Carers Should Connect with Other Carers
Unpaid carers play an essential role in society, often providing support to loved ones with long-term illnesses, both physical and mental. However, the journey of caregiving can be challenging and isolating, making it crucial for carers to connect with others in similar roles. Establishing these connections can provide numerous benefits, including emotional support, practical advice, and a sense of community. In this blog by Matthew McKenzie, we will explore the reasons why unpaid carers should connect with other carers, structured around several key areas: emotional support, reducing isolation, accessing resources, practical advice, and mutual support for self-care.
If you want to watch the 20 minute in depth lecture, the click the video below.
Welcome to another blog post from Matthew McKenzie (who runs the London Cancer carer group) advocating for cervical cancer awareness, prevention, and support in 2025. In this blog you can learn about screenings, HPV vaccinations, and the crucial role of caregivers in the fight against cervical cancer.
To watch the 3 minute Cervical Cancer Awareness Month 2025 video, please click below.
Welcome to another carer awareness and educational blog post from carer activist Matthew McKenzie. If you want to see more a more detailed version of this topic, watch the video below.
Introduction
Caring for a loved one is both a noble and demanding task. Unpaid carers often find themselves juggling numerous responsibilities, and it can be easy to neglect their own well-being. One crucial source of support for unpaid carers can be their General Practitioner (GP). The purpose of this article is to highlight the top 10 ways unpaid carers can get support from their doctor, ensuring they maintain both their physical and mental health.
Why Unpaid Carers Need Support from Their GP
Raising Awareness of Health Concerns
When caring for someone with a long-term illness, whether mental or physical, the health of the loved one can decline over time. It is crucial for unpaid carers to raise awareness with their GP about these changes to ensure that the necessary support is provided and that it is documented in the patient notes.
Avoiding Carer Burnout
Carers often prioritize the needs of their loved ones over their own, leading to potential mental and physical burnout. Regular checkups with your GP can help monitor your health and prevent burnout. It’s vital that carers take care of themselves in order to continue providing the best care.
Access to Resources
GP practices can provide or refer carers to various resources, but it’s important to note that not all GP practices offer the same services. These resources can range from support groups to secondary care services for the loved one.
Regular Health Checkups
Importance of Regular Checkups
An important reason for carers to visit their GP is to get regular health checkups. These checkups are particularly important as carers age, helping to monitor and maintain their overall health.
Overcoming Appointment Difficulties
While it can be challenging to secure GP appointments, especially if you are busy or if the practice is crowded, it is essential not to neglect your own health. Make the effort to prioritize these appointments for your well-being.
Access to Community Resources
Social Prescribing
Social prescribing is an important resource for carers. Instead of relying solely on medications, GPs can refer carers to community groups or local care centers. This alternative approach can address issues like sleep problems, low mood, and overall well-being.
Support Groups and Programs
Local support groups and respite carer programs can provide significant relief and encouragement for carers. Always register at your local carer centre for carer support groups. Plus make use of talking therapies and other supportive measures.
Medication Management
Understanding Medication for Your Loved One
Managing medication for a loved one can be complex, especially when multiple medications are involved. GPs can assist carers in understanding how to administer these medications, recognize side effects, and manage any changes in prescriptions. This support is crucial to avoid risking the health of the person being cared for.
Financial and Legal Support
Navigating Financial Aid
For carers dealing with mental ill health or other serious conditions, financial and legal support can be necessary. Some GP practices can refer you to services like the Citizens Advice Bureau, which can help navigate these challenges.
Emergency Plans
Establishing an Emergency Plan
Having an emergency plan in place with your GP is vital, especially when caring for someone with severe health issues. This plan should outline steps to take if something goes wrong and include contacts for medical teams and emergency situations. The upcoming Universal Care Plan, expected to expand by 2024, will offer an online system for carers to manage these details effectively.
Healthy Lifestyle Choices
Encouraging a Healthy Lifestyle
GPs can provide guidance on maintaining a healthy lifestyle, which is crucial for both the carer and the person being cared for. This includes advice on diet, exercise, stress management, and overall well-being. Such recommendations can come from regular checkups or specific health assessments.
Developing Care Plans
Collaborative Care Planning
Gaining the cooperation of the person you’re caring for and collaborating with your GP to develop a comprehensive care plan can reduce stress and anxiety. Double appointments can be booked to address both your needs and those of the person you’re caring for.
Training and Education
Workshops and Training
GP practices may offer workshops and training programs for carers, often funded by the NHS. These sessions can cover various topics, from handling falls to managing specific illnesses. Proper training equips carers with the necessary skills to provide effective care.
Knowing Your GP Practice
Engaging with Your GP Team
Not all GPs are equally knowledgeable about the needs of carers. An informed GP who understands your role can significantly impact the support you receive. Carers should not hesitate to choose or change GPs to ensure they are getting the necessary support.
Utilizing Practice Resources
Beyond the GP, the practice team may include specific advisors such as mental health nurses or specialists in diabetes and physical health. Engage with the reception to understand what extra services are available, ensuring you leverage the full spectrum of support.
Planning Ahead for Emergency Situations
Emergencies can arise unexpectedly, and having a well-thought-out plan in place is crucial. Collaborate with your GP and relevant professionals to outline an emergency strategy. This proactive approach ensures that both you and your loved one are prepared for unforeseen circumstances.
Conclusion
The role of an unpaid carer is both challenging and vital. Engaging with your GP not only helps ensure the well-being of the person you’re caring for but also safeguards your own health. By taking advantage of regular checkups, accessing available resources, managing medications effectively, and planning for emergencies, carers can navigate their demanding roles with better support and peace of mind. Always remember, taking care of yourself is just as important as taking care of your loved one.
Welcome to another carer awareness blog post from carer activist Matthew McKenzie. Today I want to raise awareness that carers should not always helpless and vulnerable. It is true that there are many things a carer cannot control, but that does not mean we should remain helpless.
There are coping strategies carers should try. It might seem like a cheap way to solve difficult and challenging issues, but the risk is mental and physical decline if you do not arm yourself with coping strategies. This is particularly important if you are caring for someone with challenging health issues.
There are ways carers can support themselves by developing problem solving skills in tackling isolation, negative thoughts and falling into bad coping habits.
First and foremost, it is critical that we admit that we are caring for someone. Once you get past that hurdle, you need to be aware of when you struggle with moods. There is no easy solution, as developing coping methods take time and energy. It helps to understand mindfulness and write about your feelings.
Understand what triggers you and work out a way to reduce those triggers. Getting angry about everything is a reaction and we need to protect our mental health. We cannot keep reacting to things, even if certain things are outside our control. This is especially when it comes to the health of the person we are caring for.
It is important to also set time aside to care for yourself. It might be exercsing by going for a quick walk or having to set boundaries. Some people wear themselves down due to their role and it is not helped with a fragile health and social care system. This does not mean there should be the tragedy of the ‘cared for’ suffering and also the carer. It is not selfish trying to set time for ourselves.
It could be a hobby, talking to a close friend or even confiding in another carer who has gone through that caring experience.
For more information on coping skills, please check out my video below.
Thanks for stopping by and if you are caring for someone, please also look after yourself.
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
Welcome back to another carer blog post by Matthew McKenzie carer activist and author in London.
I thought to try promote carer causes and focus on things that I reckon carers struggle with. As usual when I am talking about carers, I am talking about caring for someone in the family or as a friend.
Whether a person is caring out in the community or visiting the person they care for in hospital, there are challenges people need to take note of.
Here is a list down below
Isolation – Caregivers can often feel cut off from the outside world, especially if caring, hard to understand
Emotionl strain – Taking care of a loved one and being responsible for their health can be very stressful. depression, guilt, sleep loss.
Financial situation – This struggle can cause all sorts of stress, the financial burden felt by caregivers should not be overlooked.
How Caring can impact on opportunities – if your caring, then you are not earning or developing other skill bases. Still caring can develop it’s own skill base.
identification as a carer – people do not always see themselves as a carer, but can lose out on support
Getting access to support – respite, advocacy, emotional support, planning for the future
Strains on Relationships – caring can be a joyful experience, but also stressful, lack of time for friends or family
Being involved in care – confidentiality, jargon in NHS, relationship breakdowns, sometimes being missed in identification. These things can cause the carer to be uninvolved.
Advocating for the cared for – need to deal with GPs, social workers, pharmacists, care agencies, receptionists and so on.
Not being able to Focus on themselves – most of the previous things mentioned focus on the struggles carers face when caring, but too much focus can cause the carer to loose sight of their own well being. It is important to take time out, sleep, talk to a friend. Not easy if caring in crisis.
If you want a more detailed explanation I have also made a video below.
Hello fellow unpaid carers. Here are some more poems from my book “The Poetry book of mental health caring”.
Every so often I tend to make videos of my poetry off my YouTube Channel.
The Long Wait – Poem by Matthew McKenzie
The Poem below describes my experiences in a hospital when trying to help my mother who was suffering mental and physical health problems at the time.
The unwanted role – by Matthew McKenzie
This poem below focuses on someone becoming an unpaid carer for the first time. The poem explains from their view that they are slightly aware of the difficulties they will face, but will have to face these challenges alone.
How do I say this? – by Matthew McKenzie
The Poem below explores the struggles a carer has in understanding mental illness. He is aware of the stigma when he is trying to communicate with his daughter, but he is dealt a blow regarding his own caring duties and also to fight to sustain a relationship with his daughter.
The Triangle – by Matthew McKenzie
The poem below explains a mental health policy aimed at NHS organisations to make sure carers are included in services. The Triangle of Care has a long history and is highly sought after by mental health NHS trusts to strengthen carer strategies.
To explore more carer/mental health poems from Matthew McKenzie, you can check out the book below on Amazon.
Happy new year to visitors of my mental health carer blog site. As mentioned in my earlier blog posts, I am working on promoting awareness of caring for someone suffering mental ill health.
I created a number of carer poems, quite a few are on this site, but are subject to being edited as I am often fine tuning poems.
I am also adding a couple of my poems on to my YouTube platform and will blog them every so often.
The poem I want to introduce here is titled “On Alert” as it highlights the struggle unpaid carers go through in prompting medication. A lot of carers hate doing such a task, but when the experience the person’s mental health crisis, they want to try avoid the situation again and take resort to being on alert.
Watch my 2 minute poem “On Alert” off my video link below.
Here is a brief update of our Greenwich mental health carer forum for June 2021. This carer forum focuses on empowerment for mental health carer, while my Greenwich Mental Health carer peer group is on peer support and carer networking.
We were joined by MP Matthew Pennycook who is the Labour MP for Greenwich and Woolwich.
Matthew was mainly here to listen to unpaid mental health carers, which he could take up be it compliments or concerns. I could not go into any details but a few issues were raised one on the state of GP practices. We were also joined by Nosizo Magaya who is CQC’s lead inspector for Oxleas.
Matthew Pennycook MP for Greenwich
Nosizo spoke about what the CQC that being Care Quality Commission does and how they engage with NHS staff, patients and those who care for service users.
Nosizo reminded us that the CQC are a regulator, so they regulate all health services in England. She felt that perhaps the CQC could describe themselves as the Ofsted of health care. The only difference with the CQC and Ofsted is that they can prosecute, if they feel that there are providers that are not providing the adequate care.
So the CQC as an organization has got teams of inspectors that go in and review the care that’s been given to people. Sometimes they respond to whistleblowing, or any responses from any member of the public. Typically, if they do get a concern, they will contact the provider. If the person who gave the CQC the information is happy for them to share it. The CQC will contact the provider and ask for feedback and query what happened with this consent that has been raised. Their teams are a combination of different people on their health care professionals, anything from doctors to nurses, physiotherapists, and also some that are not healthcare professionals being expert by experience.
Nosizo also mentioned that they are based according to team, so the London mental health and community health service team would look after oxleas and she is the main contact for oxleas. Some queries from members were worried how long it would take to raise questions to the CQC, although another carer reminded that even if the CQC did not speak to a carer during inspection, it is always wise to raise a query off the CQC’s website.
You can check out more from the CQC off the site below.
Welcome to the March 2021 update of the joint Southwark & Lambeth Mental Health carers forum. I know its a mouthfull of a title, but just consider its an open forum for those who care for someone suffering mental distress.
For the month of March, the guest invites were the following.
Jessica powell – Researcher from Imperial College London
Ros cumberbatch – South London & Maudsley NHS trust carer lead for Southwark
Annette Davis – Carer peer, activist and BAME carer support.
Claire Parry – Psychotherapist leading on trust psycho therapy
Debika – SLaM Assistant Psychologist for Family and Carers Support in Southwark
A Caring Mind 