Stroke Care Study Day

Lesley recently took part in a study day for stroke health care staff organised by Joanne Graham, NHS Fife’s stroke training coordinator. The day was entitled “Caring for Carers” and focussed on the experiences of carers of people affected by a stroke with the intention that health care staff would understand the carers role and how they can help to make a difference. Lesley made a series of presentations to the delegates along with psychologists Emma Hickabottom & Kim Kemp covering topics such as Who is a carer?, How to support a Carer and Legislation and Policies. The thing that made the most impact on the delegates though was the session on A Carers Perspective. Five carers of people who have had a stroke came along and spoke about their experiences, the things they found easy and the things they found tough, how they felt at different stages of the journey and the things that had changed in their lives forever. The carers were Nancy Beveridge, Alex Birt, Josephine Munro, Kerry Brown and Moira Williams. They told us that they found being asked to talk about themselves an unusual and sometimes emotional experience but hearing the responses from the delegates made it feel very worthwhile. When the delegates were asked what they had found useful about the day the session with the carers was top of their list – many of them said that it had changed the way they think about carers and their role in helping their patient’s condition improve. Fife Carers Centre would like to say a BIG THANK YOU!! to Nancy, Alex, Josephine, Kerry and Moira for making such a difference to the day and the way carers are perceived.
We are always looking for carers to take part in similar activities - it is usually for about an hour and involves simply talking about your own experiences as a carer. If you would like to take part at some time in the future please give Lesley a call on 01592 642999.