The States’ policy for the future organisation and funding of care is the Supported Living and Ageing Well Strategy, but progress on that is currently in limbo and in the ‘in tray’ for the new Assembly.
Speaking at the start of the nationwide Carers Week, Carers Guernsey chairwoman Ellie Lawrence said the organisation had not been doing a lot of political engagement in the past few months because the States term was nearing its end, but that was going to change from the summer.
‘They need to work out where they’re going to put people and how they’re going to look after people,’ she said.
‘We’ve already got people in hospital who can’t get out into homes.
‘We haven’t got any new care homes entering the market either, so that puts a lot of pressure on our informal carers at home, and we would like to see more recognition and more financial support for them. I hold out a lot of hope that the new government will put this on their agendas.’
Respite services are also an issue, she said. The charity is holding a wellness day for carers this week and had hoped to get some private funding in place to provide respite care to cover the day to allow people to attend, but had been unsuccessful.
‘Respite services are hugely limited, so that’s something I really want to pick up on, probably after the summer, because they seem under-resourced,’ she said.
The charity estimates that there are about 8,000 informal carers in the island, of which 700 are receiving carers’ allowance, which means that they are looking after a person with a severe disability.
The charity has hundreds of people registered as members, she said, and provides several different kinds of support, including helping people fill in forms and even accompanying them on doctor’s visits, as well as putting them in touch with services.
Mrs Lawrence took over the role at the charity a year ago and said that in that time it had ‘a bit of a funding crisis, like many other charities’.
It has one full-time staff member, and over the year she has sought to put that person in touch with carers.
‘Carers, by their nature, just go unseen. So they are caring for their loved ones, and they’re often tied to their house. They don’t get out very often.
‘So it’s been really important to try and go into their homes and build up these connections with them.’
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