Author: Harmish Chander

Vulnerable patients and those in need of extra care often feeling scared, vulnerable or intimidated by the uncertainties they face during their health journeys. Nurses and care workers are in the privileged position of being able to ease those negative feelings by showing true kindness and compassion on a daily basis.

According to the Patient Empathy Project, 96% of patients suffer from healthcare-related fears, and one of the top patient fears is having a rude or unhelpful nurse. It’s no wonder that patients are scared, as only recently ten staff members at a learning disability hospital were arrested after a BBC Panorama programme showed footage of staff appearing to mistreat patients. Following an investigation into alleged abuse of patients at Whorlton Hill psychiatric hospital, Durham constabulary confirmed it had arrested seven men and three women in connection with the undercover recording, which showed carers being violent towards patients.

When nurses and care workers are in their training, applying evidence-based research, critical thinking and scientific knowledge to the delivery of healthcare are the main focuses to their study. Nurses also gain a deeper knowledge of medical equipment and technology. However, kindness is the foundation of their work.

Nurses and those working in care should be nonjudgmental, supportive and understanding in order to gain the trust of those they are caring for. Maintaining a kind and respectful approach to health work has many benefits, including improved nurse-patient relationships, increased patient compliance with care plans and treatments, improved patient outcomes and increased patient satisfaction. Open communication and mutual respect can also result in shorter hospital stays, relieving pain, decreased anxiety and an optimistic outlook on recovery. Each person in need should be treated as a unique individual and should be supported in their spiritual beliefs as well as their emotional, psychological and cultural needs.

The University of Texas explains that providing patient-focused care and forming relationships based on kindness and empathy gives nurses the opportunity to directly impact their own happiness and fulfilment too. It is proven that nurses and care workers who have greater job satisfaction tend to be more productive, motivated and committed to quality care.

To stay focused on providing kindness through care work and nursing, staff should be mindful of the patient’s needs, such as their individualised care and listening to their concerns, taking the time to introduce themselves as well as other nurses or healthcare providers who will interact with the patient, address patients by their name and make frequent eye contact. Maintaining ongoing communication with patients, family members and caregivers also helps to build a good rapport. Care givers and nurses should encourage patients and those around them to ask questions, and take the time to answer them to their satisfaction. It’s important to always be respectful and courteous, even when faced with unhappy or demanding patients.

The 6 C’s are the foundations for kindness in nursing and care work:

According to NHS England, the 6 C’s are considered crucial to improving patient relationships. They stand for the professional commitment to always deliver excellent care. Not one is more important than the other and they focus on putting the person being cared for at the heart of the care they are given.

Care: The care nurses and care workers deliver helps the individual and improves the health of the whole community. People receiving care expect and deserve for this to be consistent and correct.

Compassion: Compassion is how care is given through relationships based on empathy, respect and dignity – it can also be described as intelligent kindness, and is central to how people perceive their care.

Competence: Competence means all those in caring roles must have the ability to understand an individual’s health and social needs and the expertise, clinical and technical knowledge to deliver effective care and treatments based on research and evidence.

Communication: Communication builds successful caring relationships. Listening is as important as what we say and do. Communication is the key to a good workplace with benefits for those both in care and the staff too.

Courage: Courage enables nurses and care workers to do the right thing for the people they care for, to speak up when they have concerns and to have the personal strength to keep going when things get tough.

Commitment: A commitment to patients is a cornerstone of what nurses and care workers do. They need to build on their commitment to improve the care and experience of patients.

Smoking is the main way tobacco is used and this is a very addictive habit, it may burn a hole in your pocket but can burn the insides of your body too. The theme for this year’s World Tobacco Day is Lung health and we will be explaining the dangers of using tobacco.

With more than 4,000 chemicals being produced when burning tobacco your cells can adjust from normal cells to cancerous cells. Chemicals such as nicotine, carbon monoxide and tar once inhaled cause the mucus in the lungs and airways to enlarge which increases the chances of an infection.

As we all know, common side effects that come with smoking involves coughing, an increase in catching colds, wheezing and asthma. These may not be concerning side effects for you however over a long period of time there is a higher risk of obtaining life threatening diseases such as pneumonia and lung cancer. With deaths from Lung cancer being 83% caused by smoking as well as 84% of people dying with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) it shows there is a greater need for people to stop using tobacco.

With the healthcare industry creating resources for people to stop smoking lead by health care assistants and registered nurses there are many ways that you can find a way to stop you from smoking.

The increasing strain and lack of resources within the UK’s healthcare system is having a massive impact on our elderly people. Age Scotland recently found that more than four in 10 older people requiring “substantial” or critical care were found to be waiting more than the six weeks for care.

Further across the rest of the UK, one in five care home residents have been sent out of their local area, with some stranded more than 450 miles from families and friends, according to official data revealed under freedom of information (FOI) laws. In the worst cases, frail or vulnerable people are being taken from five local authority areas in London and southern England to Glasgow and northeast Scotland, because beds are unavailable at home or cheaper elsewhere. Not to mention that a recent poll by YouGov revealed that out of 2,000 people surveyed, only 1 percent were happy with the idea of going into a care home anyway.

Most people assume that a care home is where they will ultimately end up, but in fact there are a wide variety of alternatives, according to Elder, when it comes to care for the elderly:

Home care

Home care can be provided by local authorities or by private companies and can be tailored to the individual’s needs. Private care offers far more choice than other options of home care, and hours can be increased as the elderly person’s needs become greater.

When faced with illness or immobility, it can be a struggle to carry out the everyday activities that you may have once performed with ease. There is no place quite like your own home, and that is why discreet personal care services can be designed to support you with your day-to-day living, as well as providing you with the encouragement and emotional support that you may need to remain living independently. Personal home care services can assist you with personal hygiene needs, administering medication at a time to suit your convenience.

Live-in care

An increasingly popular form of elderly care is to employ a live-in carer. Private live-in care is the perfect solution when a loved one wants to stay in his or her own home but needs 24/7 care.

Live-in care services are most suited to those who need someone to be with them during the day and night, whilst maintaining a high level of independence within the comfort of their own homes. Live-in care can be offered as a respite or short-term care solution ad can offer an extra set of hands around the house, assist you with gardening or cooking, help you with personal tasks like bathing and dressing and drive you to appointments, social engagements and more.

Live-in care can also cover complex care, which is one-to-one care specifically tailored for those affected by complex health conditions which require nursing care. Those affected by complex conditions will often rely on specialist equipment such as ventilators, colostomy bags, PEG feeding tubes and lift mobility. A one-to-one service can enable those in need to remain in their own homes with the greatest possible degree of independence.

Move in with family

Living between two households is a growing, popular choice for elderly people in need of care, although usually it is the older person who moves in with grown-up children and their families. Depending on the family, this can be a good option, but obviously it’s not for everyone.

If you decide to go down this route, you need to have very clear guidelines about private space, mealtimes, how bills are split and house rules. It is likely that at some point the grown-up child will become the caregiver, so it’s important that all parties are comfortable with this situation.

Sheltered housing

With sheltered housing the elderly person either buys or rents a small apartment in a dedicated block, which is overseen by a warden who usually lives on site. Residents are equipped with personal alarms so that they can notify the warden if they are ill or have an accident. This set up allows independent living but with the advantage of knowing that someone is available if necessary, and there is usually a communal lounge or garden so that residents can socialise.

Retirement villages

Developments exclusively for retired people are a popular option as many elderly people decide to downsize from their larger homes. Retirement villages are specifically designed for older people and are usually sited close to town centres or within easy reach of shops. Apartments can be bought or rented and there are communal areas where residents can gather to socialise or have their meals.

Home Sharing

Home sharing involves the elderly person offering a room within their house for a live-in carer, although actual care work is generally basic, such as a little gardening, shopping or cleaning. The carer benefits from either free housing or nominal rent, whilst the elderly person receives companionship and some help around the house.

Befriending

Some charities organise volunteer support for elderly people in their own homes. The volunteers will visit the elderly person for a friendly chat and a little help with shopping trips or excursions. This can be a valuable way of providing companionship and relieving boredom, but volunteers will not normally assist with personal care and the help that they provide is fairly limited.

Social work is a very stressful job. A Guardian survey of 3,700 people in public services and the voluntary sector, including many social workers and other social care professionals, found that 93% of them experience some level of stress working in their jobs.

This stress is ever growing in the UK due to fewer resources, increased workloads and reduced staff. People in the survey reported various negative effects of feeling stressed, such as loss of sleep, depression, anxiety and an impact on their relationship with their partner or family. Many also said that their jobs were particularly stressful due to the nature of supporting people in difficult circumstances.

The demands placed on care workers by their jobs can affect their ability to sleep, causing fatigue and physical illness. This might mean they feel unable to continue with work, become negligent or reckless, or angry and irritable.

People react to stress in different ways depending on their personality, mental health issues and what is going on in their non-work lives, but there are things you can do, according to Mind the charity, to better cope with the inevitable levels of stress you find yourself dealing with when you work in care:

1. Talk to someone

Within care it’s important to communicate and let others you trust know when you are struggling. It’s difficult to care for someone else when you are unable to care for yourself. When you talk about how you feel, it helps you better understand what is stressing you out and why and will relieve the tension that you feel. Feeling overworked and under pressure is a serious concern and you don’t have to deal with it on your own.

If you’re having difficulties, try to have a mentor or a manager who you can talk to. This doesn’t need to be your line manager, but it does need to be somebody you have a good relationship with either inside or outside of work.

2. Develop coping strategies

Try to learn where your breaking points are and recognise the signs within yourself when things are getting too much. It’s important to develop techniques that you can use in these situations that can calm you down, whether that’s practicing meditation, or taking a walk, find what works best for you.

Equally, if you feel like you need extra help, speak to a medical professional.

3. Maintain a healthy work/life balance

Make sure you take time out of each day just for yourself so that you are able to recharge. Working long hours can mean that care workers are not able to recover from their long shifts, with the result being that they start the next day with little to no energy. Spending time on other activities outside of work or just relaxing can help.

4. Eat a balanced diet and get enough sleep

Getting enough sleep along with developing healthy eating habits are good places to begin when it comes to handling stress. You know what they say: Healthy body, healthy mind. Your body needs good nutrition to function daily. Your brain needs 80g of carbohydrates a day just to think straight. Check out the NHS website for tips on healthy eating. Everyone is different but the general rule is everything in moderation; including moderation.

5. Make time for yourself

Learning to relax is a skill which can help you control your emotions and improve your physical wellbeing. Even if you work long hours, waking up half an hour early to have breakfast or to just simply breathe and look out the window provides a great platform for you to start your day.

6. Exercise

Being physically active is a great way to reduce anxiety levels. Whether it’s swimming, running or just walking up and down the stairs a few times in your break, being active helps to give your brain some time away from those daily stresses. It also triggers the release of mood-enhancing hormones, making you feel happy and less stressed.

As NHS funding tightens and healthcare services in the UK become even more stretched, what were once roles preserved for doctors – prescribing drugs, ordering x-rays, referring patients and diagnosing etc – are now also done by many senior nurses. According to an article by the BBC, if you visit any walk-in clinic or minor injury unit, the chances are that you’ll be seen by a nurse and some GPs are also using nurse practitioners to ease their workload by carrying out consultations. There are nearly 330,000 nurses working in the NHS in England whereas by comparison there are only more than 32,000 GPs and 40,000 consultants.

Research by the British Heart Foundation on heart failure specialist nurses has shown that they can reduce hospital admissions and consultant appointments, giving a saving of over £1,800 per patient. The charity Parkinson’s UK also found that a specialist nurse saves over £200,000 a year in avoidable bed days, consultant appointments and unplanned admissions. With healthcare changing as medicine advances, and a growing amount of time devoted to helping people manage their conditions, there is arguably a growing role for the expert nurse as a way of making resources stretch further.

The main way to differentiate between a doctor and a nurse is that a doctor is the one who does the operations while the nurse is the one who assists, although another major difference is the level of education between both positions.

Doctors have more education

According to an article on Nurseslabs, doctors have a lengthier education time while nurses can follow a basic scheme to start getting paid work. The said education length will determine and influence the salary of each profession, which would mean to say that the higher the education time, the higher the pay. If nurses want to progress into senior positions, they have to gather more master’s degrees and doctorate degrees to get a notch higher than that of a regular nurse.

Due to the many years of learning and experience, a doctor can properly prescribe medicines. A doctor can also diagnose a disorder or disease while a nurse cannot because of all the lessons doctors needs to undergo. A doctor is the one who decides which treatment a patient has to take and also keeps track of the patient’s improvement with the help of the day to day workings of the nurses.

Nurses work with patients more closely

Unfortunately, doctors barely have any time to sit down with their patients and have a conversation with them, while nurses can work more intimately with patients and have conversations with them. Nurses are by the patient’s side from admission to discharge but doctors tend to only be called on as a last resort if the nurses do not have the scope or the expertise to look after the patient.

Nurses arguably have a more “human” role, which some would say is just as important as the doctors.

Doctors have the overall say over care

Doctors take a much bigger responsibility regarding decision making. Doctors are educated so that their knowledge is for one field of practice only, which would mean they would go back to school if they would want to practice another field. On the other hand, the license of a nurse is for everyone, regardless of the case specialty of the patient.

Nurses today are able to give prescriptions, make a diagnosis, perform procedures, and maintain the steady progress of the patient, but this does not mean that doctors are now being superseded by the nurses. The doctors still have the ability to overrule the nurses’ judgment and actions.

Studying to be a nurse offers more flexibility

To study to be a doctor on a tight budget or with a family is far more difficult than training to be a nurse, which is why a lot of mums turn to nursing after having children. A doctor’s education is more in depth than nurses and tends to run on far longer.

Both nurses and doctors are winners

The fact is that no one role is greater than the other. Although everyone plays a different role, doctors and nurses should act as a team, and without the other neither of them would be able to operate and care for their patients to the best of their abilities.

The role of care work stretches far beyond just caring for the elderly. In fact, there are a number of people with a variety of different needs who need extra care, such as those recovering from an accident, with disabilities, those living with an addiction and more. Carers help with daily needs and activities that such people might find difficult or impossible to do alone, like feeding, bathing, dressing, toileting, lifting and moving and administering medications. Others benefit from less support as they like to live fairly independent, but they may need someone to keep an eye on them, or help them with tasks like banking, transport, shopping and housework.

In terms of the different types of carers, Carers Trust explain that there are unpaid carers who might be a partner, family member, friend or neighbour who cares for the person in need, volunteer carers who are provided by some charities and non-profit organisations, then there are professional carers who are professionally trained and routinely monitored under stringent medical guidelines, and that is what we provide here at Secure Healthcare Solutions.

Professional carers fulfil a number or specialised tasks while getting to know the individual in need on a person level. Here are the different categories professional carers could fall into.

Personal carer

When faced with illness or immobility, it can be a struggle to carry out the everyday activities that you may have once performed with ease. These carers understand that there is no place quite like your own home, and that is why personal carers support you with your day-to-day living, as well as providing you with the encouragement and emotional support that you may need to remain living independently. Personal carers can assist you with personal hygiene needs, administering medication at a time to suit your convenience.

Complex carer

Complex care is one-to-one care specifically tailored for those affected by complex health conditions which require nursing care. Those affected by complex conditions will often rely on specialist equipment such as ventilators, colostomy bags, PEG feeding tubes and lift mobility. Complex care services range from short visits through to full time, live-in care.

Complex carers are most suited to individuals who:

– Have been discharged from hospital and have significant nursing and clinical care needs that need to be continually monitored.
– Are in hospital wards such as intensive care or high dependency units and are due to return home, faced with a long-term recovery process.
– Suffer from degenerative conditions and have on-going care needs.
– Have physical or learning disabilities and require long-term support in the home.
– Have complex care needs and are dependent on life sustaining technology.

Complex carers can help with:

– Intermittent catheterisation
– Peristeen – rectal irrigation
– Suppositories and digital stimulation for bowel movement
– Bladder washout
– Convene
– Urethral and Supra pubic catheter
– Cpap, BiPap and Vpap ventilation
– Cough assist
– Diabetes blood sugar monitoring
– Stoma – ileostomy, colostomy, urostomy
– Inhalers
– PEG feeding inc.bolus and continuous Nebuliser
– Insulin injections

Live in carer

Live in care is most suited to those who need someone to be with them during the day and night, whilst maintaining a high level of independence within the comfort of their own homes. Live in care can be offered as a respite or short-term care solution.

These carers can offer an extra set of hands around the house, assist you with gardening or cooking, help you with personal tasks like bathing and dressing and drive you to appointments, social engagements and more. Live in carers will provide you with round the clock support how and when you need it. Whether you want companionship and some help around your home, more specialised care for conditions such as dementia or Parkinson’s, or if your family carer simply wants a holiday, live in carers can help.

Respite carer

To give unpaid carers such as family members a much needed break, respite care provides companionship, personal care, cleaning and cooking, driving, shopping and more to individuals in need. It is a flexible service that provides a bespoke and tailored service for each need. Respite care is available for any period of time, from an hour or two to a longer period, which could be a week or more.

There is also such a thing as holiday care, which supports individuals who find it difficult to go on holiday due to the level of care and support that they require whilst away from home, often resulting in them not getting the break they need. Respite carers can accompany you on your break, allowing you and your family or friends a chance to relax, safe in the knowledge that you are getting the personal attention and support that you need to get the most out of your holiday.

There’s a little bit of everything in the West Midlands. Whether you love the country or feel more at home in the city, the West Midlands provides the best of both worlds and is an up and coming part of the UK looking to give the likes of London a run for its money; especially when it comes to quality of life and affordable housing options.

We are proud to provide a tailored staffing solutions service using our specially trained nurses, healthcare assistants and support workers across Birmingham, Wolverhampton, Stafford, Stoke, Coventry, Cheshire, Shropshire, Worcester and the surrounding West Midlands region. If you are thinking of joining our team, here are 10 reasons why it’s a good idea to work and study as a nurse in the West Midlands.

1. Regular nursing shifts

There’s nothing quite like a reliable source of income to ensure that the bills get paid and that you have money to do all the things you love to do. With a growing population and more and more of us living longer thanks to advancements in medicine, the need for nursing staff is greater than ever. This means that Secure Healthcare are always looking for new staff to fill different roles and shifts.

2. Great pay rates

Our ethos is to maintain good old fashioned values with a modern twist of technology and to ensure patient care is delivered to the highest quality while reducing the cost of care and increasing the pay to our staff. At the heart of our business, we are committed to helping the vulnerable population while protecting the workforce, with great pay rates, who makes it all possible.

3. Continued clinical training every 3/6 months

Secure Healthcare works to ensure that all of their staff are properly trained to the highest standards possible, which is why we provide all our care workers with FREE training. We will offer you a variety of training opportunities including mandatory training, which you will be updated on a yearly basis. We also provide additional training courses depending on the needs of the client.

The mandatory training covers:

– Manual handling
– BLS
– H & S (inc. COSHH, lone worker)
– Fire awareness
– First aid awareness
– Infection control
– Complaints handling
– Conflict resolution
– Information governance
– Food hygiene awareness
– Adult abuse/protection

In addition to the mandatory training, Secure Healthcare offers extra courses and development days to help our nurses improve their practice and support their continuing professional development (CPD).

4. Affordable housing

Lots of people are deciding to make the move from the South to the North due to soaring rental prices, dodgy landlords and for the chance to be able to raise a family in a house they can call their own. The West Midlands offers affordable housing and renting options in a variety of different areas, from the built up cities like Birmingham and Wolverhampton to more rural parts in Shropshire and Herefordshire.

5. You will be living in an up and coming area

Not only are more and more people moving to the Midlands for the affordable housing, but because the West Midlands is also a dynamic and up and coming area within the UK. The West Midlands is a diverse part of the world with award winning eateries, beautiful scenery, bustling cities and fizzing night life. There’s something for everyone.

With the government’s plans to build the High Speed 2 train, which will be a high-speed railway which will directly connect London, Birmingham, the East Midlands, Leeds and Manchester, there truly is no better time to relocate to the West Midlands.

6. Feel like you are making a difference

There’s no job quite like nursing for job satisfaction. If you love helping people and making a difference in the lives of vulnerable people, you’ll never regret making the decision to work and study as a nurse in the West Midlands.

7. Be part of a dynamic team

With support out of hours 24/7, and a kind, friendly team to help you with your day to day nursing duties and studies, you’ll find yourself not only enjoying your job and delivering it to a high standard, but making friends too.

8. Familiar clients and friendly faces

We aim to try to get you visiting the same individuals in need of care for their benefit and your own.

9. Job progression

Secure Healthcare are keen to help nurses and other healthcare workers progress in their careers. See our website for our job opportunities and more.

10. Live in a historic part of the world

Not many people realise, but the West Midlands is rich with history. In fact, it may surprise you to realise that Sir Isaac Newton – who discovered gravity – was from here, or that the 1832 Great Reform Act which laid the foundations of our modern electoral system was pioneered in Birmingham.

When we think of nursing and care work, we often think of the treatment we would like our loved ones to be given should they find themselves in need of extra care. Nursing isn’t for everyone, but for the few who find nursing to be their vocation, there are a few attributes that are needed in order to make a great nurse who you would be proud to look after your own family.

Professionalism

Nurses are tasked with handling a great deal of sensitive information and situations, whether that’s meeting with patients, administering medication or reading through patient records. There is a great deal of responsibility that’s involved when being a nurse, and it’s imperative that the job is handled in an ethical manner.

There may be occasions where you have to deal with difficult patients, or patients from different cultures and backgrounds to your own, and it’s important that throughout your work you treat everyone with the same amount of dignity and respect.

Brilliant communication skills

Communicating well is one of the most important aspects of a nurse’s job. Nurses have to be able to communicate clearly with doctors, patients and coworkers in a very high pressured environment. They must be able to follow instructions, as if they don’t people’s lives could be at risk. It is also important that nurses can communicate with a patient’s family in a sensitive manner.

Attention to detail

If nurses do not possess attention to detail and miss a step in a patient’s medical care this could have disastrous consequences. Whether it’s reading a patient’s chart or remembering important details, nurses need to be able to get it right and ask questions if they are unsure.

They must also be able to solve problems quickly should they arise.

Sense of humour

It’s a good idea to remember that the patient’s you deal with day in day out are human, and some appreciate finding the lighter side of a bad situation. A good sense of humour can keep morale high and keep patients feeling positive, but it can also help the nurses too. Nursing can be a tough job, and you may have to witness some difficult moments, so humour can always help to get you through your shift.

Patience

Nurses need to be patient with people who may be confused, sleep-deprived, under the influence or dealing with a great amount of stress. Patience will help to calm down such patients and allows you to better respond to the task at hand.

Caring

Arguably the most important attributes to have when being or thinking about being a nurse are to be caring, understanding and non-judgemental. Nurses need to have the ability to empathise with patients and their families on a daily basis and to show them that you are there with them every step of the way throughout their care. Being kind towards a patient can go a long way towards improving patient care and their hospital experience. It’s important to remember that very few people like being in hospital, so you are often dealing with a person at their worst, and it is your job to make their time in hospital run smoothly. Sometimes a caring nurse is all a patient has to look forward to during their day – you never know how much of an enormous impact you can have on someone’s life.

Nurses also need to be able to manage their own emotions and seek help when they need it. They constantly deal with stressful situations and tragic illnesses and they must be able to remain calm and think clearly throughout such circumstances.

Be eager to learn

Nurses need to be constantly aware of and apply the latest research to their work. After a nurse qualifies, that is not the end of their learning, as medicine is forever changing due to advancements in technology. Nurses should be eager to learn the latest techniques, procedures and how to get the most out of new equipment.

Good nurses should take advantage of every opportunity to enhance their skills and deliver great care. By gaining the extra knowledge and skills you need to provide better patient care, this could allow you the opportunity to pursue specialisms and move into management roles.

You may be aware that you are a carer, but may not be aware of the different avenues of support that there is out there for you to help you both financially and mentally. Perhaps you need a break or are a young carer looking to make friends, there are a number of options for you to research which could help make life a little easier.

Firstly, what is a carer?

Carers help with daily needs and activities that people in need might find difficult or impossible to do alone, like feeding, bathing, dressing, toileting, lifting and moving and administering medications. Some people in need of care benefit from less support as they like to live fairly independent, but they may need someone to keep an eye on them, or help them with tasks like banking, transport, shopping and housework. In terms of the different types of carers, there are unpaid carers who might be a partner, family member, friend or neighbour who cares for the person in need, volunteer carers who are provided by some charities and non-profit organisations, then there are professional carers who are professionally trained and routinely monitored under stringent medical guidelines, and that is what we provide here at Secure Healthcare Solutions.

The NHS explains that if you are a carer you can have a council assessment to see what help might be available to help make your life easier. The results of the assessment might recommend things like someone to take over caring so you can take a break, a gym membership and exercise classes to relieve stress, help with taxi fares if you don’t drive and putting you in touch with local support groups so you have people to talk to. A carer’s assessment is free and anyone over 18 can ask for one. To get a carer’s assessment you need to contact adult social services at your local council and ask for a carer’s assessment.

If money is an issue, your council might be able to help with the costs. You might need a financial assessment and this can be arranged for you after the carer’s assessment. You might also qualify for benefits that can help with costs. This can include Carer’s Allowance if you look after someone for more than 35 hours a week, Carer’s Credit, Carer Premium or Disability Living Allowance for children. If you’re told you don’t qualify for help and support, your council should give you free advice about where you can get help in your community. Ask if this doesn’t happen.

If you are struggling with the stress of caring for a loved one everyday, there is such a thing as “respite care”, which a Carer’s Assessment can advise you on whether you qualify for this support. Respite care gives carers a much needed break, and this can be for any period of time, from an hour or two to a longer period, which could be a week or more. Respite care can provide companionship and conversation for the person in need, personal care such as help with bathing, dressing and toiling, cleaning and cooking, driving and shopping.

If you are a young carer, Carers Trust’s local Network Partners are carer services across the UK, offering information, advice, practical support and/or care in the home. The Children’s Society can also help you find a young carers service near you and it has lots of advice and resources for young carers on its website. Carers UK is the UK’s membership charity for carers of all ages offering advice, information and an online forum for carers over 18.

If you are a young carer wanting help getting work, the Carers Trust offer a “getting into work” handbook for if you are looking for work for the first time, have been out of work for a while or if you are in work but looking for a new job: https://carers.org/article/getting-work-guide-young-adult-carers

For young carers in need of help working out the legalities of the person you are looking after, for example helping them with a will, LawStuff gives free legal information to young people. LawStuff is run by Coram Children’s Legal Centre, which provides more detailed information both over the phone and online. The Children’s Society’s website also has information on your legal rights.

Read more at about the support you are entitled to as a carer here: https://www.nhs.uk/conditions/social-care-and-support-guide/

Struggled to get out of bed this morning? All you wanted to do is stay in your Pyjama’s or your dressing gown? Well at Secure Healthcare Solutions we’ve had a PJ day for Pancreatic Cancer.

As an agency that provides temporary staffing solutions to the NHS and private hospitals, we feel it’s best to help spread awareness for causes such as these as our nurses, healthcare assistants and support workers can play a key part in them successfully recovering and helping them feel better.

With the survival rate of pancreatic cancer (Pancan) being sufficiently low due to it being detected at a late stage, it becomes difficult to remove due to the tumour being unable to be removed as surgery isn’t an option any longer.

As Pancan needs to be detected early we feel it is necessary to inform as many people as we can reach so that you can see the warning signs and be checked and if so diagnosed at an early stage to give you more of a chance to beat cancer. Even though it is in the top 5 for the UK’s worst cancers it
only receives less than 3% funding!

At Secure Healthcare Solutions, we are helping to raise awareness of Pancan day and proud to work with our agency healthcare professionals in looking after people suffering with Cancer.