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Three of our Carer Support Workers, Carol, Cindy, and Janet have had a get together and I'm really happy to pass on some information to you about the West Fife Carers Walking Group. The group is up and we are ready to take off. The walking group will meet fortnightly on a Tuesday from 11:30-1:00. To start, we will be doing about 1 hour of walking and then time after for a chance to have a cuppa and a chat. Please see below the walks we have come up with over the next two months, but we are always glad to hear of any suggestions you may have for the group. For each walk, we will have two walk leaders, so you don’t have to worry about if you are a fast walker or more leisurely, we will be able to have different paced walks on the day.
On the first day that you come along, you will need to fill out a Walkers Registration Form and we will need the telephone number of an Emergency Contact in case something happens while we are walking, so please make sure you bring the contact details along with you. You are welcome to come to any of the walks and we will send you a reminder email the day before to let you know where we are meeting up and send you a copy of the risk assessment. If you are planning to come along, if you could let us know so we can keep an eye out for you. The purpose of the group is to provide a space for carers to relax a bit and get away from their caring role so, we would ask that members please do not bring along any children, the person you care for, or any dogs. If you have any questions please feel free to contact either Cindy, Carol or Janet. For the cuppa afterwards, just now if you want to bring your own drink/snack that is fine. Some places we go will have a place to purchase something and if you chose to buy something instead of bringing your own, that is entirely up to you. Here is our walk schedule- 27, July 11:30-1:00 CULROSS with Carol and Janet 10, August 11:30-1:00 DUNFERMLINE GLEN with Cindy and Carol 24, August 11:30-1:00 LOCH ORE MEADOWS with Janet and Cindy 07, September 11:30-1:00 LIMEKILNS with Carol and Janet 21, September 11:30-1:00 TOWNHILL LOCH with Cindy and Carol 05, October 11:30-1:00 DESTINATION TBA with Janet and Cindy If you would like to speak to any of us, or let us know you will be attending one of the walks, please contact us by phone or email: Cindy Souter- Carer Support Worker- City of Dunfermline Locality 07849 846496 cindy.souter@fifecarers.co.uk Carol Reddick- Carer Support Worker- West Fife Locality 07736 918211 carol.reddick@fifecarers.co.uk Janet Love- Carer Support Worker- Cowdenbeath Locality 07736 918213 janet.love@fifecarers.co.uk You can also contact the Carers Centre on 01592 205472. Hope to see you soon!!! Thank you to those of you who took part in our Carer's Blanket project. My collegue Martina Forsyth asked carers to knot or crochet a square that represented something about their caring relationship. We had a couple of people who volunteered their services as crocheters so that carers who wanted to be part of the story but couldn't crochet could still be represented. Although it was a relatively small number took part the resulting blanket was fab! It was brought together by Martina and I'm sure you'll agree that they all made a great job of it!
HAPPY VOLUNTEERS WEEK TO OUR FANTASTIC VOLUNTEERS AT THE FIFE CARERS CENTRE! Our volunteers offer befriending to adult carers in Fife who are isolated or just in need of extra company and listening ear. We want to thank our volunteers for their commitment and wonderful work they are doing to support carers. When we asked them what they got out of it our volunteers told us: • Volunteering for me is ‘to be or not to be’ • Experience from voluntary work is essential, everyone should try it • Sharing experience and meeting new fantastic people is great • Keeping in touch with other volunteers, being part of a team saved me • Looking forward to meeting all in person soon • Just fun  I know it seems a bit early but lets start thinking about Carers Week 2021 which is from the 7th to 13th June! This past year has been a different, special, difficult, challenging one and as carers we have been through experiences we had never imagined. We have helped someone to live their life as fully and safely as they can and in the process have become less and less visible and supported by society and services. We understand that during lockdown and restrictions the way we had previously been supported was, by necessity, reduced or withdrawn but we are ready for that to change for the better. When things begin to resume we do not want to remain invisible, we want to be recognised and supported and the work we have done to keep people safe and well acknowledged. The theme of Carers Week 2021 is "Make Caring Visible and Valued" so let's have a big think about how we can do that in Fife. Last year we were unable to meet in person for Carers Week so it was all done online and we learned a lot from it. This year we hope to be able to combine online activities with in person activities but will have to wait and see how things pan out. We'd like to have a mix of informative, social, fun, thought provoking and inclusive activities that make everyone see and appreciate carers. We have a few ideas on the go to develop but we would love it if you thought of anything that you would like to do for carers week - get in touch and let us know about it. In the meantime have a look at one of last year's short entertainments by our Carer Support Worker Andy Brogan. If you are a parent carer you have a great opportunity to share your thoughts on designing a new play space at Lochore. Take a look at the video and do the survey below
See the video here Lochore Redevelopment and complete the survey here Survey for Lochore According to the statement published this morning (22nd February) on the Scottish Government website https://www.gov.scot/news/next-stage-for-vaccine-programme/ People with underlying health conditions and unpaid carers are beginning to receive coronavirus (COVID-19) vaccinations. Priority group 6 is one of the largest on the Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation (JCVI) list. The first to be invited will be people who have conditions which are included on both the JCVI priority list and the flu vaccine list. Although there is some overlap, the two lists are not exactly the same. They will be invited at the same time as unpaid carers who receive carers’ benefits or who have been identified by GPs. Carers who do not receive carers benefits, and who have not been identified by GPs, will be asked to come forward to register for their vaccine at a later date through an online portal or the national helpline. Work is also ongoing to identify people with underlying conditions who are not on the modified flu vaccine list, and they will be invited shortly. Anyone aged 70 or over who has not yet been invited for their vaccine should visit nhsinform.scot for further advice or call the national helpline on 0800 030 8013. I know it's frustrating to be ready and waiting but it is on its way!  Following enquiries from carers about the rollout of the Covid vaccine, we have been informed that some NHS boards are now beginning to call forward a limited number of carers identified through GP records and relevant social security benefits (Carer’s Allowance, Young Carer Grant and Child Winter Heating Payment), as vaccine supply allows. If you are a carer, you do not have to do anything at this time if you have not received your appointment letter yet.
Further information will be available shortly about the forthcoming self-referral system for carers in Scotland. We have had a lot of enquiries about carers getting the Covid - 19 vaccine. NHS Inform website has this information for family and unpaid carers at the moment.
Adult unpaid carers aged under 65 and young carers aged 16 and 17 will be offered vaccination at the same time as adults with eligible at-risk health conditions (priority group 6). Unpaid carers aged 65 and over will be offered the vaccine earlier as they are included in priority groups 2-5. Unpaid carers are those who provide care for someone else due to a disability, ill-health or frailty without payment. Some unpaid carers will be invited to get their coronavirus vaccine by phone or letter, if they are already known to support services, for example, Social Security Scotland or a local carer centre. If you are not in contact with a service, you can register with your local carer centre. Unpaid carers will also be able to self-refer for the coronavirus vaccine if they are not contacted by phone or letter. Further information on this will be available shortly. If you would like to refer yourself to Fife Carers Centre you can do so at any time by completing the Referral form which you will find here - https://www.fifecarerscentre.org/referral-form.html |
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July 2021
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