NEW INITIATIVES GIVE PEACE OF MIND TO CAMDEN'S CARERS

14 June 2006

Camden Council yesterday (13 June 2006) launched a new website and free emergency support card to give the borough’s 15,000 unpaid carers peace of mind.

Mayor of Camden Cllr Jill Fraser was joined by Minister for Disabled People Anne McGuire MP for an afternoon of events to celebrate the new initiatives during National Carers Week (12 -18 June 2006). The minister also talked to carers about the proposals to improve their pensions arrangements at the launch event at the Charlie Ratchford Centre in Chalk Farm.

The new website (www.camdencarers.org.uk ) will provide the information and advice that many desperately need in clear and simple language in one place. A local carer’s organisation, The Princess Royal Trust Camden Carers Centre, developed the site with the help of carers from across the borough. The centre’s director, Claire Wheeler, said: “Many carers can’t leave their homes for long because the person they care for needs support. Finding that information can be difficult. The website should make life easier.”

The new carers emergency card aims to give carers peace of mind. It will provide a 24-hour backup support for carers should they fall ill. Carers will carry the card and in an emergency anyone can call the number on it. Camden Council will then implement an agreed emergency care plan for the person they look after, whether it’s help to eat, get dressed and wash, or simply to get out and about.

Cllr Jill Fraser, Mayor of Camden, said: “Carers are Camden’s unsung heroes and provide a vital lifeline to friends or family members. I hope this event can help to highlight the great service that carers provide to people with problems caused by their age, health, disability or mental health.”

Cllr Martin Davies, Executive Member for Health and Social Services, said: “Camden’s unpaid carers do a wonderful job and provide support to thousands of people in this borough. I hope the website and new carers card provide them with the peace of mind they deserve. Whether its knowing where to turn to for advice or to find someone sympathetic to talk to, the website has a wealth of information for carers. The new emergency card will reduce the stress and worry about being ill or incapacitated, knowing that someone will be there to look after their loved one.”

Anne McGuire MP, Minister for Disabled People, took time out at the event to talk to carers about the pension reforms announced in the recent Pensions White Paper. The new proposals are aimed at improving the pension rights for people who take time out to care for someone else. She said: "It has been very interesting to meet with carers in the Camden area and hear their views about the proposed reforms in the White Paper.

"Part of the reforms address the current injustices affecting people who have caring responsibilities and have been unable to build up entitlement to a state pension, even though they play an important role in society.

"The proposals held in the White Paper will enable us to dispel this inequality and create a pensions package that will be sustainable and provide a long term solution."

The event was also a forum for Camden’s wide range of carers to get together, relax and share their experiences, with a buffet lunch, cream teas and a steel band to entertain guests.

To sign up for the carers emergency card, residents should contact Camden Council’s Careline on 020 7974 1491 or email careline@camden.gov.uk

Alternatively write to The Careline Administrator, Careline, Careline Control Centre, Ludham, Lismore Circus, London, NW5 4SE.

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