CIVIL servants are consulting with voluntary organisations to try to come up with ways to help people who care for others.
The Department of Social Care is working with other government departments and ‘third sector’ (charities and voluntary bodies) organisations to develop support for carers.
The organisations have drafted a ‘carers’ charter’, which aims to create what they call ‘a framework for developing appropriate support for carers’.
The DSC says a carer is defined as someone who supports a relative, friend or a neighbour who for any reason needs help with daily living and receives no payment for doing so.
Carers provide physical and emotional support to vulnerable people.
They help the person they support to deal with the issues of daily living, particularly those more specifically associated with a short or long term illness or disability, mental health issues or problems resulting from alcohol or ‘substance’ (such as drugs or solvents) misuse.
The type and amount of support provided may vary considerably depending upon individual needs and therefore it is not possible to fully define the role, produce a job description or person specification.
Each situation is different and the role will not be the same for everyone.
In addition caring responsibilities usually vary over time and may be difficult to predict from day to day.
The DSC says anybody can become a carer at any time, as the result of a sudden event, such as an accident, or through a gradual process when someone’s physical or mental health slowly deteriorates.
A DSC spokesman said: ‘We want to hear views from both carers themselves and the general public on the draft charter. In order to take into account summer holidays the consultation will run until Friday, September 21.’
Electronic copies of the consultation and further information about the proposals are available on http://www.gov.im/socialcare/services/adults/carers.xml or www.crossroadsiom.org
Paper copies of the consultation document can be collected from:
Crossroads Care Isle of Man Carers’ Centre, 35/36 Derby Square, Douglas, IM1 3LW or The Department of Social Care, Markwell House, Market Street, Douglas, IM1 2RZ or The Tynwald Library, Legislative Buildings, Finch Road, Douglas, IM1 3PW or by ringing Crossroads Care on 673103 or the DSC on 686208.