Short Break Stories

Time for Me

A story by Carers of West Dunbartonshire

We provided grants directly to carers who care for an adult. The grants were available to allow the carer to have a break on their own or to have a break with the person that they were caring for.

Grants were available to carers living in West Dunbartonshire caring for an adult with a wide range of disabilities and illnesses.

What Time for Me did

An application pack was developed. This contained an application form, a leaflet about the project, an agreement with guidelines/criteria form and an expenses record. Promotional material for the project was produced and distributed among statutory and other third sector agencies.

The existing good partnerships that we have with a variety of agencies and individuals was used to raise awareness and promote the project. These included, Health staff, GPs, District Nurses, Social Work teams, Voluntary Organisation Partners.

The promotional material included, leaflets, fliers, Website information and information in our own newsletter and other organisation's newsletters.
We also informed carers on an individual basis, for example those that were being offered a high level of support from our Carer Support Team and who were felt to have a particularly high need.

We also carried carried out “mini” presentations about the project at our own carer support groups and external carer support groups. This ground work formed a sound basis for us to build on and to promote the development of the project.

Grant applications were considered on a fortnightly basis by a small grants panel. The grants panel comprised of the “Time for Me” Project Worker, Carers Services Manager and a carer volunteer. Each application was considered individually and against the criteria which had been set. Carers were given a choice as to how they wanted the grant to be administered, these were, a small personalised budget, a break arranged by the Carers’ Centre or as a combination of both.

Successful applicants who chose the personalised budget option were awarded their grant in the form of a cheque. Carers were asked to keep a record of all expenses as well as receipts.

Mrs R looks after her elderly mother who has advanced dementia. The break allowed her some time away from her caring role, she went on a short break with a friend. They took a bus tour, seen a show and enjoyed the sights.

Mrs R said they "never stopped laughing" and also commented that she liked being able to plan her own break as it gave her freedom.

Mrs B looks after her husband who has mental health problems and she herself also suffers from depression. They took a break together where they had a 4 night stay in a hotel. This allowed them quality time together in a different environment which they do not often get.

Mrs B said they both enjoyed meeting other people which really helped them both mentally and said she felt very much better when she returned home.
Mrs T cares for her husband who has a visual impairment. They took a break together to the Blind Veterans Centre in LLandudno. This allowed Mr T to get an assessment of need, advice about coping as well as a break.

Mrs T said that she enjoyed the fact that they could do things together in a a safe environment, and she was able to relax without worrying about her husband and came away feeling rested and having got some more useful advice.

What Carers of West Dunbartonshire has learned

Having a break is such an important thing for carers so being an organisation that is able to offer a service like short breaks really positions us well.

For many carers getting away "with" the person they care for rather than getting away "from" them is just as important. It's the getting away from the daily routine that's the key for many carers. We all need to learn from that and be flexible about what a "break" can mean for people.

A break is often the thing that carers feel will be most difficult to get but yet the most useful to them. They are often put off by bureaucracy. So it's important to keep processes straightforward.

Carers may initially apply for a break but by engaging with services, particularly new carers, it is likely that other support needs are identified.
Top tips Carers of West Dunbartonshire's top tips for an organisation that wants to run a similar project
Tip 1:
Keep it simple!

Gathering information to assess an application is necessary but it does not need to be onerous or overly bureaucratic. Developing a straightforward process will attract more carers.
Tip 2:
Be flexible.

There is a lot to be learned from what carers will define as a break and it is important that organisations are open minded about that.
Tip 3:
Use a person centered approach when evaluating. Using conversation to gather the information and evaluate is much more meaningful than asking carers to complete a form. It allows them the opportunity to talk at length about what the break has meant to them, how they coped and to say "thank you"....carers have told us that it is very important to them that they are able to do that.

It can be time consuming but worth it...use trained volunteers if staff capacity won't allow for it.