CARERS SUPPORT SERVICES

Carers Support Services Our Impact:

£13,157

Distributed in financial support grants from VSA to unpaid carers 11,670

People directly and indirectly supported at Airyhall Carers Respite Centre 4,800

People supported directly and indirectly through our Carers Service

482

Hidden carers identified and supported 106

Carers events attended and delivered 81

Carers mental health counselling sessions provided

63

People supported who care for someone with a mental health illness 50

Carers awareness presentations delivered 15

People supported who care for someone living with an addiction to drugs or alcohol

Airyhall Case Study

Shona McDonald is a registered carer for both her mum and dad - her mum is partially sighted and her 77-year-old father John McDonald lives with Alzheimer’s.

John was, sadly, diagnosed at 65 years old and at that time, there was not a lot of support for people of that age to get help; most groups were for 70 and over.

Shona contacted our team at Airyhall, who provide respite for unpaid carers, in the hope that she could find somewhere that could help, and we were delighted to offer her father a place.

Shona commented: “It was a Godsend when my dad got a place, I was so grateful that VSA could help us. My dad has been going for years now, and honestly, he loves it. The staff are so lovely and take such good care of him. He loves doing woodwork and being the bingo caller.

“It is such a lifeline for me as I care for both my parents, sometimes doing something like getting shopping can be difficult. So, knowing my dad is in such good hands and in a place that he loves going to makes it easier for me. It gives him something to look forward to as well, as he has friends that attend and he has great relationships with the staff at VSA.”

“With my dad’s Alzheimer’s he does forget a lot of things which is frustrating for him; however, he always knows when it is a Tuesday or Saturday as that is when he gets to go to the day centre. I can’t thank the team at VSA enough for their support over the years.”

Shahnaz’s Story

Shahnaz Bashir, with her husband Syed and two children, has lived in Aberdeen for a little over a year now having moved from Pakistan to Glasgow 10 years ago. Shahnaz is a registered carer for her 15-year-old son Waleed who lives with epilepsy, cerebral palsy, and is registered blind. Her husband Syed works for VSA at Ruthrieston House.

Shahnaz first moved from Pakistan to Paisley, to start her MPhil at the University of the West of Scotland; she was the first female from her family and district to accomplish higher education which she said was a great honour. When she first moved, she had to leave her home and move to a new country all alone which was a difficult time for her. Shahnaz did not know anyone; it was a huge cultural challenge and Waleed specifically found it upsetting being in Pakistan without his mum as he did not fully understand why she had left. After two months, Shahnaz’s family moved to Scotland, to be reunited, which was an emotional time for everyone. When Waleed moved over, one of the first things she did was register him with a GP; because of his learning difficulties, she wanted to ensure she could get support. She was really surprised when the GP asked her which school Waleed attended because children with learning difficulties do not attend school in Pakistan. Shahnaz spoke about how this was a huge surprise for her, as she had no idea that in Scotland he could go to school and she knew this would be great for him. Shahnaz’s older son Shahzad Ahmad, who is 19, is also registered as a young carer for his brother and helps his mum and dad support him. Shahzad plays cricket for Stoneywood Dyce Cricket Club and is also very academic, which led to him receiving an offer from the University of Aberdeen’s School of Medicine to train to become a doctor. When Shahzad received the offer, the whole family decided to move to Aberdeen – to support Shahzad’s dream. When Shahnaz moved, she asked her carer service in Glasgow who could help support them in Aberdeen and they were advised of VSA Carers. When they moved to the city, they contacted VSA and Shahnaz and her eldest son are now both registered at VSA as unpaid carers. Shahnaz answered some questions about her experiences as a Carer. How have VSA Carers helped you since moving to Aberdeen? The team has been fantastic, they signposted me to different opportunities to meet other carers, provided me with information about mental wellbeing, and where to get different information. Initially moving to Aberdeen was a bit unsettling for us, as we do not have any family or friends here and because of Waleed’s learning difficulties, and so we wanted to find an organisation that could help us. I obviously can’t attend Carers Cafes at the moment due to lockdown, which has been hard because I only really started going to them when this crisis started. VSA has held virtual events but it is nicer to see people in person.

“As a full-time carer for my son, a mum for my eldest son, and a wife, it is nice to know I have VSA Carers there to help support me if I need it.”

My carer advisor is a fantastic lady. She has called me a few times during lockdown as well and provides me with very good advice. What is your day-to-day routine? I get up before my family to prepare breakfast for everyone, and then help Waleed into his wheelchair down for breakfast. I also help him eat as he cannot do this by himself. Once my husband leaves for work, I then help Waleed get washed and dressed for the day ahead. My eldest son Shahzad would normally go to University, however, due to lockdown he has been at home the past few months to help me with the morning routine. Due to Waleed’s learning difficulties, he gets bored at home, so we try to take him out for a walk every day. He loves the sounds of birds, wind, and water so it helps relax him. We also enjoy going as a family and it is good for us to get fresh air. Waleed also loves music, and my eldest son, when we are out, often puts headphones on with his favourite music; we know if Waleed doesn’t like a song as he knocks the headphones off. His favourite song is “Qarara Rasha” and this is in Pushto language. He loves listening to it when we go to the park. After our walk, we go home, and I normally start to prepare dinner while Waleed and his brother watch TV. As he is blind, he cannot see the TV, but he loves the sounds. My husband gets home from work and we enjoy dinner as a family before I get Waleed ready for bed. Having my eldest son home during lockdown has been great for Waleed; they have such a special relationship and I love seeing them together. We moved with Shahzad because Waleed would really miss him and would be very upset.

What do you like to do to relax? It is hard to find time to relax, as being a full-time carer I am always thinking about what Waleed may need next. However, I have the support of my husband and son and as a family, we are all there for each other. My eldest son loves producing videos of how we care for Waleed, and I enjoy helping him film these. We have a youtube channel “Shining Stars” that my son updates with different videos of how to care for people with learning difficulties. We post these on my husband’s Facebook also to share with family and friends. It is a great pleasure when receiving messages from other carers from other countries. The modern technology is helping the carers, too. When lockdown is over, I will enjoy being allowed going back to Carers Cafes as I do not know many people in Aberdeen, I hope it will be a good way to build some friendships. People in Aberdeen are very nice and friendly. How do you keep going? This is a difficult question, as you keep going because it is my son and my family. Some days can be hard, and you maybe would like a break, but Waleed is my son and I will always do everything he needs, and I will be there for my whole family. What do you see in your family’s future? I am very happy to be in Scotland. We had a nice time in Glasgow and now we are very happy in Aberdeen. I really want to write a book: “My journey from the north of Pakistan to the north of Scotland”. My older son Shahzad is a very nice and kind boy. I like when he helps someone. In future, we want to help those parents who have children with special needs. Parents and carers here in Scotland are very lucky. I came here from a developing country and I knew about the many challenges that carers and people with special needs face in their daily life. That is the main reason why I have started Shining Stars so that I can spread awareness to people in those countries.

Airyhall Carers Respite Centre

Airyhall provides a range of daily respite support services delivered in a communitybased setting. Over the past 12 months the service benefited 11,670 Aberdeen people.

It has allowed unpaid carers to access support for their loved one(s) while enabling them to take time out to look after themselves for a few hours. This helps carers to avoid becoming exhausted and run down.

This service is critical to people in an unpaid caring role and enables them to maintain caring for their loved one(s) at home without reaching crisis point which would mean intervention from the NHS and Social Care.

The centre supports people living with a mental or physical illness who are cared for in their own home, and provides stability, routine and an opportunity to socially interact with others while providing the benefit of a few hours of respite for their carer/ loved one(s).

Over the year the centre delivered a wide range of activities that were designed and tailored to the people attending to deliver outcomes relating to their personal care plans. Activities included:

Reminiscence Life stories Music to Movement/ Music Therapy Mindfulness Sessions Snooker/Pool Quizzes Dominoes Group Games Board Games Pampering Baking Groups Crafts Singing and Dancing

Airyhall also provided specialist weekend daycare respite services for people living with dementia.

“When I got a place at Airyhall for my husband it was like winning the lottery. It saved my sanity and also gave my husband a place to go where he can play dominoes, which he loves. It gives me time to relax or even get shopping, and I know my husband is well looked after which gives me peace of mind. All the staff at Airyhall have been amazing and honestly I can’t thank them enough for everything they do for me and my husband.”

Shirley Shireffs - unpaid carer

The Adult Carers Service

Our Adult Carers Support Service provides vital practical, emotional, social, financial and mental wellbeing support to thousands of people who undertake an unpaid caring role for looking after ill, older, or disabled family members or friends.

In Aberdeen one out of every four people could be providing a caring role, and this means that enough unpaid carers are living in Aberdeen to fill the main arena at TECA nearly four times over. Across Scotland it is estimated that up to 1.1 million people are undertaking a caring role.

At VSA we have significantly invested in our Carers Support Service over the past twelve months; the service has a brand-new carers resource centre located in the heart of Aberdeen city centre at the Castlegate. The new centre provides the space for our Carers Support Advisors to deliver a wide range of activities, training, and social support gatherings for unpaid carers.

The centre provides a safe space and calming environment where unpaid carers can come to talk in confidence to their carers advisor, get advice or take part in one of the many activities on offer. Last year, our Carers Support Advisors provided 3,000 face to face support sessions and made 10,920 wellbeing support calls to unpaid carers.

Our Carers Advisors helped to make sure that people in unpaid caring roles got the correct information and support to enable them to continue to care for their loved one(s); provided access to training to help upskill unpaid carers; provided vital financial support and information; helped carers get to and from appointments; and helped unpaid careers access some vital respite time to look after their own wellbeing.

Our Carers Support Service also helps support unpaid carers who are caring for people living with a mental health condition or are caring for someone living with addiction. Many people who live with a more enduring mental health condition can often have some form of underlying addiction to drugs or alcohol. At VSA we are specialists in providing mental wellbeing support services and our carers advisors have full access to a wide range of support strategies and advice from our mental wellbeing services.

We have a Specialist Carers Advisor who is based at Royal Cornhill Hospital and is a fully qualified counsellor. Last year we provided 81 counselling sessions to unpaid carers who were caring for someone living with a mental health condition and delivered 12 monthly sessions of our mental health in-forum peer support group for unpaid carers.