A Carers centre in Dumfries and Galloway made over 10,000 contacts of support with Carers across the region during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic.
A total of 1322 adult and young Carers used the services of Dumfries and Galloway Carers Centre from April 2020 up until March of this year.
The cases that Support Workers dealt with increased in complexity, because of the pandemic.
The Carers Centre is commissioned and supported by Dumfries and Galloway Council and NHS Dumfries and Galloway to provide an information, advice, and support service to Carers.
Support was provided via a range of formats, and this was increased with the move to offer virtual one to ones.
Staff identified people who needed enhanced level of support at the start of the first lockdown to make sure they had the correct information to cope with decreased services, shielding issues, access to food and medication.
Manager Claudine Brindle said the centre had to remain open during the pandemic as Carers could not stop what they were doing and were having to increase their caring roles.
“We knew that they would need increased support from all areas of the organisation, and this has been shown in how the service has responded,” she said. “The service has reacted and responded to the changes needed as a result of the pandemic extremely well and we should all be proud of what has been achieved over this year.”
Many young Carers found themselves with increasing caring roles due to schools being closed and other services reduced or stopped.
Staff were also having to deal with the pandemic and everyday life but continued to demonstrate commitment and dedication to their role.
To contact the Carers Centre, call 01387 248600 or email [email protected].
To view the full Carers Centre activity report for the year, go to: www.tsdg.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/cc20-21.pdf
