THE Carers’ Hub at Dumfries and Galloway Royal Infirmary has opened to provide support to the thousands of unpaid Carers across the region.
The Hub was opened by one of Dumfries and Galloway’s unpaid Carers, Sheryl Herring, who cut the ribbon at the Hub’s new location beside the hospital’s Combined Assessment Unit.
Together with Dumfries and Galloway Health and Social Care Partnership, the Carers’ Hub is supported by five local commissioned services : Support in Mind, Quarriers, Relationships Scotland Dumfries and Galloway, Alzheimer Scotland, and the Dumfries and Galloway Carers Centre. The Hub is funded by the NHS Endowment Fund.
Alzheimer Scotland dementia consultant at NHS Dumfries and Galloway and project lead for the Carers’ Hub Wendy Chambers said: “Unpaid Carers are hugely important, but they can often feel isolated and unsupported. The truth is that health and social care in Dumfries and Galloway simply would not work without them. I hope that the Carers’ Hub will make it easier for Carers across the region to get the support they need.”
Partnership chief officer Julie White said: “I have three hopes for what the Hub will bring to Carers.
“The first is that it will provide support, advice, and information, both for staff who are Carers and also for any Carers who are in the hospital. We know that too many Carers don’t receive the help that they need to continue.
“The second is to bring together the organisations who have the role of supporting Carers for a discussion about how we can better meet their needs.
“The third is to attract attention and enhance the profile of unpaid Carers across the region.”
Sheryl Herring said: “This Hub is an absolute godsend for Carers like myself.
“There are a lot of resources out there for Carers now, and this brings everything together in one place, and I’m hoping that it gives all the Carers out there the support that they need.”
Relationships Scotland Dumfries and Galloway manager John Dougan said: “The opening of the Carers’ Hub today is an important milestone. It’ll allow collaborative working between third sector, the NHS, and our colleagues from other areas, to focus on supporting Carers across the region. Hopefully we’ll be able to use other spaces across the region as well to help Carers, by giving them a safe space to come and the resources they need to support themselves.”
Carers in Dumfries and Galloway, or anyone who knows a Carer, are invited to give their views on how the Hub should develop by emailing [email protected].
