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Tag Archives: carers

Carers ‘mentally and physically fatigued to point of burnout’

FAMILY Carers Ireland in Clare has revealed there has been an increase in demand for its counselling service with carers “mentally and physically fatigued to the point of burnout”. According to David O’Connor, Family Carers Ireland Carer Supports Manager in Clare some carers do not even have the time to come in person to counselling sessions, instead using the service by phone. “That is how much pressure they are actually under, they are under huge amounts, and time is just such a finite resource. It just continues to add to their stress.” He believes more needs to be done to support carers, saying “joined up thinking” and a holistic approach is needed across all sectors including government, the HSE and Family Carers Ireland. A minimum amount of respite hours per month per family would go some way towards alleviating the strain on carers, he adds. He was speaking in light of recently released results of a study by researchers at …

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Full time carers should be prioritised in vaccination programme – Cllr Norton

FULL time carers and people with disabilities should be vaccinated as soon as possible, according to Councillor Ann Norton. Councillor Norton has called on the government to follow the example of the United Kingdom by prioritising carers and family members they are looking after for the vaccine against Covid-19. As a parent and full time carer, the Independent Councillor wrote to Health Minister Stephen Donnelly, Tanáiste Leo Varadkar and An Taoiseach, Micheál Martin about the need to prioritise carers as part of the national vaccination programme and was very disappointed with the lack of any serious engagement. She received a standard acknowledgement from Minister Donnelly’s secretary, an automatic response from Deputy Varadkar and no response from the Taoiseach. Councillor Norton, who cares for her daughter, Nicole, (23) said it was time for the government to recognise carers were saving the state huge sums of money by keeping children and adults out of long stay residential facilities. “Full time carers are …

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Caring continues under Covid-19 pressures

CARERS impacted by Covid-19 restrictions are struggling with a lack of respite and home support visits, but keeping their spirits up through check-in phone calls, virtual quizzes and even Zoom bingo. While home care continues to be provided, many carers have chosen to cocoon alongside their loved ones, and paused their services voluntarily. The restrictions have also placed a big burden on charities providing support to family carers, as they have meant key fund-raising activities have been curtailed. “We are still 100% open and taking new cases, but our home visits are limited,” explained Margaret Naughton, from Ennis, who works with Jack and Jill, a home nursing care service for children. “At this stage, the only visits we make would be for end-of-life and palliative care.” The Specialist Children’s Liaison Nurse works with 30 families across Clare, Limerick and North Tipperary, and said her daily contact are, for the most part, made by phone. “They’re not always easy calls, and …

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Learning how to cope with dementia

There are more than 1,200 people in Clare living with dementia significantly impacting on their quality of life. With often a spouse and adult children, dementia also impacts thousands more family and healthcare professionals in the community. Many people are experiencing caring challenges in their lives; many of whom are at breaking point and simply don’t know where to turn for help, feeling guilty about leaning on others or becoming a burden. After all, 11 people a day develop dementia. Ireland’s first National Dementia Strategy was launched in December 2014. It aims to meet the needs of people living with dementia in Ireland and the expected increase of people who will live with dementia in the future. What jumps out of the research is that all those impacted want to deliver care, want to be part of decision making and want support and respite. Hence, it identifies six priority areas: better awareness and understanding; timely diagnosis and intervention; integrated services, …

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Carers seek waiver on bin charges

CARERS who look after a family member with incontinence wear should not be penalised by the introduction of new domestic waste charges, according to local family carers’ advocate. New rules for the collection of domestic waste are due to come into effect on July 1, including a pay-by-weight charging system. Susan Hogan, area manager of Family Carers’ Ireland (FCI), has called on the Department of the Environment to introduce a waiver system for those who are disposing of incontinence wear on a daily basis, to avoid what could be hefty waste bills for some carers. A spokesman for the Department of Environment confirmed to The Clare Champion that the department has met with groups who represent persons with special needs to discuss and explore the impact of pay-by-weight charging on households. The department has also been in consultation with the HSE and the waste management industry about the issue, to try to find a workable and fair solution to this …

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Lack of support keeps carers in ‘crisis mode’

A SOUTH Galway mother is calling on the Government to provide more support for parents of children with special needs, who she says are at breaking point. Sonja Luan Devine’s son, Ché O’Grady, is 11-years-old and suffers from cerebral palsy. Since he was born, as well as being his mother she is also his carer but because Ché’s needs are so great, Sonja is unable to work and finds it difficult to make ends meet. “People have no clue how tightly families with children with special needs are squeezed. Even the fact the dole is the same as carer’s allowance is, quite frankly, insulting on a very deep level. Because I have a partner, I get half the carer’s allowance so I get €100 per week. A trip to the hospital in Dublin could cost €150,” she says. Even if she had the time to work, Sonja doesn’t believe anyone would hire her. “I don’t think I’m employable at the …

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