Information for Carers

Do you look after someone?

Could they manage without you?

If you give unpaid care and support to another person, such as a loved one or a neighbour, you are considered to be a carer.

A carer may help a person (or people) with giving medicines, eating, or washing. They may provide emotional support, or help a person move about the house; or help them with getting out of the house. This is not an exhaustive list; a carer may do so much more.

A carer can be someone of any age, and may give any amount of time to the person they look after. They may provide a few hours of support each week, or they may give round-the-clock care.

The important question to ask yourself is, do you look after someone?

If so, it is important to let the surgery know this, so we can get a better picture of your individual health needs and the extra pressures that you may have in your life. We want to make sure you’re getting the right advice and support.

When you are giving crucial support to another person, you must also make sure your own health is not being ignored or overlooked.

Support for carers

A range of information and resources for carers can be found on the Devon Gov.uk website by clicking here.

You may want to register with Devon Carers; an organisation which provides advice, guidance and support to carers in the local area.

To register with Devon Carers, or for more information:

• Call on 03456 434 435.
• Visit their website by clicking here.
• Send an email to “info@devoncarers.org.uk”.

Additionally, the following groups offer advice and support to carers in the area:

Dementia Carers Network

What day: Last Thursday of every month.
What time: 2PM – 3:30PM.
Where: Alternating between ASDA community room and Newton Abbot Museum.
Who to contact: Mary (07847 507666). Please contact Mary to book a space if possible. Check their website (http://4dementiacarers.org.uk) for updates.

Kingscare Dementia Carers Group

What day: First Thursday of every month.
What time: 2PM – 3:30PM.
Where: Kingsteignton Community Hall, Rydon Road.
Who to contact: Jackie (01626 357090).

Kingscare Time For You Carers Group

What day: Second Thursday of every month.
What time: 10:30AM – 12:30PM
Where: The Avenue Church, Newton Abbot.
Who to contact: Rosemary (01626 357090).

Mental Health Carers Group

What day: Third Thursday of every month.
What time: 10:00AM – 11:30AM.
Where: The Avenue Church, Newton Abbot
Who to contact: Maggie (01626 357090).

You may also want to check out Devon Connect’s campaign: Support Carers Today (click here). This campaign is currently recruiting volunteers to support carers in communities across Devon. Information is limited at the moment as this is a new campaign, however you may want to keep checking back to find out what happens in the future.

How to tell us that you look after someone

If you would like to notify us that you are a carer for someone, or you aren’t sure if you already have, please do not hesitate to contact us. You may:

• Call the surgery on 01626 334411. Choose option 1 (for general queries) and let a member of our Reception team know. Please be aware that our phone lines can be extremely busy depending on the time of day; the queues tend to be shorter during our last hour (5PM – 6PM), so you may want to call at this time.
• Come into the surgery and speak to a member of our Reception team at the front desk.
• Send us a letter (simply drop this into our letterbox on the left of the front porch), or an email (our email address is “enquiriesatalbany.L83034@nhs.net”).