Jason (30) cares for his 60-year-old mother Marie who has multiple physical and mental health problems.
Jason completes all household chores including shopping and cooking. He collects Marie’s prescriptions and will often need to prompt her to take her medication. Jason provides emotional support to Marie and also deals with all letters, bills and other finances.
Jason does not have any other family support and no external support is in place. Jason would like to work but he does not feel able to as his mother relies on him so much for support. He does not get out much anymore to meet up with friends due to his caring responsibilities.
Jason wants to continue to care for Marie, but he feels he needs support to help him cope emotionally.
Jason reached out and contacted Carers Together for support. He was offered a Carers Initial Assessment which is a form used by Carers Together, Age UK Teesside's Time Out Service and Redcar & Cleveland Mind's Carers Service. The initial assessment helps the carer and the service identify what support, information and advice the carer needs. The assessment takes a holistic approach recognising that caring is complex and everybody's needs are different.
Jasons assessment highlighted that Jason was struggling to help Marie get to appointments due to her limited mobility, Jason was therefore advised to contact Marie’s GP to request a referral to wheelchair services. Carers Together also referred Marie to Adult Social Care for an Occupational Therapy assessment and also provided Jason with information about Home Call services.
Jason accessed Carers Together’s counselling service and was also referred to Redcar & Cleveland Mind services. The team informed Jason about Age UK’s Time Out Service so that Jason could have time to himself away from his caring responsibilities with peace of mind that Marie would have company from a trained volunteer.
Jason was issued with Carers Together's ‘I am a Carer’ card and also registered with the Carers Emergency Card scheme. Information was given about a Needs Assessment for Marie if she needed a care package in the future which would be completed by Adult Social Care. A Welfare Rights referral was completed for both Jason and his mother to have a full benefits check.
Carers Together are in regular contact with Jason to help meet his support needs.
By taking the initial step to reach out and access support Jason has made steps to improve his own health and well-being. It is not always easy to ask for help but it could be the best thing you do. As a carer, it is vital that you prioritise your own health and well-being.
Have a look at some of the local support on offer today, reach out or simply have a look through our website for information on a range of topics including maintaining good physical health, taking care of your mental well-being, carers assessments, financial support and much more.
Jason's story is real however the image and names used in this article are not for the carers anonymity.
