What a summer it has been!
New book on care and caring
NHS is amazing
Make sure you plan for emergencies
Well, what a summer it has been!
I have had the benefit of some brilliant NHS care and I am quite well now. It is amazing how you can be sailing along, and you get a sudden reminder that you are in fact human and can fall ill like anyone else.
This meant that my new book Carers and Caring was a little bit late in arriving at the publisher. So, it will not be coming out until early next year. One of the sections is about emergency planning. Anyone reading this who is a carer for someone else will understand you need to have a plan for when you’re suddenly unavailable. As I was writing it, I thought about things that I had to do when I unexpectedly had to focus just on myself and staying alive.
Carers and the NHS
According to the NHS website it takes carers an average of two years to acknowledge their role. For a long time, things go along with gradual changes happening all the time, and then one day you take stock and realise that a significant percentage of your waking life is being spent putting someone else’s need in front of your own. Sometimes it is a crisis in your own circumstances or health that brings it to your attention.
It goes on so long that you just see it as part of normal life. This is because it is hard to separate the caring role from the relationship you already have. It may even be that you have become ill and the illness you have has been made worse by caring. You have been burning the candle at both ends, by trying to do too much for someone else as well as living your own life. You probably were not planning to take over someone’s needs and prioritise them.
New Book
In the book there is advice for carers about making an emergency plan in case they themselves need care. It is a plan you set out for care to be provided in case you become unavailable suddenly. You may find a blank emergency planning form on the website of care organisations for example www.actionforcarers.org.uk.
Emergency Planning
Emergency planning means that a sudden change of circumstances is less likely to create a crisis. On the form you record general details about the person you care for and their contact details, and the name of anyone who holds a key for the place where they stay. There are spaces for contact details of people who can be reached if you’re not available, and details of any provider agencies that normally go into the house. Make sure all the people involved know that they are named on it. If someone has power-of-attorney or lasting power-of-attorney, then the details should be there as well. Contact details for the GP and the pharmacy are needed in case there is a medical emergency. There are many more details that can be entered into the form and a copy of it should be given to those mentioned, and acute agencies and one copy left with the person you care for.
I send heartfelt thanks to a big list of people who cared for me this summer. It includes family and friends, and health care staff. My heart sings when I see the blood donor bikes travelling between hospitals in Edinburgh. And I give thanks to those who donated blood for me. To all carers I say, look after yourself and make sure you have a plan in case something happens that you were not expecting.
If you would like more information, you can buy my book Dementia, the One Stop Guide or Care Homes: When, Why and How to Choose a Care Home. I am available for consultancy for families or organisations. And if you have any further queries or questions, or suggestions for something you’d like to see me write on, please contact me via the Contact Page
See my new course on Dementia the One Stop Guide on Policy Hub here
