Wandsworth Carers' Centre - December 2022
Wandsworth Carers’ Centre is a registered charity and a lead provider of the Carers Partnership in Wandsworth.
Their vision “is a society where Carers are recognised and valued for their contribution and have choice and control that enables them to care, to stay healthy, and to lead fulfilled lives.”
Four carers attended the online workshop and a member of staff who was able to share experiences on behalf of the carers who could not attend the session due to other commitments.
We asked: Is the cost-of-living affecting your ability to manage your daily care or access the health care you need?
- One carer talked about the difficulties faced paying the cost of childcare and they are having to work long hours. They also said they have to pay for aftercare and said they get no help.
- One carer talked about being assessed for a care package. They have 5 children and 4 have additional needs and she has her own physical needs but felt she must support and care for children without sufficient support. They said they need to get food vouchers to survive and have no-one to turn to for help.
We asked the group if the cost-of-living crisis directly affects their health or their wellbeing (including their emotional or mental health)?
- Carers have been telling staff at the Carers’ Centre that they are afraid to put the heating on; there is fear of putting the heating on and so much confusion about the energy bill cap. More information needs to be available for people.
- We discussed warm hubs that were being set up in Wandsworth but the group thought there does not appear to be any hubs specifically set up for those who have Learning Difficulties, they said it would help carers if this resource was available.
- They said people are also having to visit food banks, possibly for the first time, as they cannot make their money stretch due to the rise in costs.
We asked what best describes their current financial status.
- Three carers thought they had enough for basic necessities, and a small amount of disposable income, that they can save or spend on leisure. But they told us that they have to really think about what they buy and tend to buy the cheaper brands and cut back on the occasional treats that they had previously considered a luxury brand.
- One carer told us that they most definitely have had to give up things, she is concerned as her husband has sickle cell anaemia, so needs the heating on. However, they do not receive any extra support and still must pay for prescriptions, they thought this appeared to be unfair because people would get support if they had some disabilities.
- A further carer told us that her son has diabetes, and she struggles to cope with providing him with the food required to manage his condition.
- One carer told us that they only have enough for necessities and rely on family to support them.
We asked if this has changed over the last 12 months.
- All carers who attended have noticed a difference in income over the last 12 months, some only buy ‘own foods’ rather than brand food. To compensate, and another is stressed about paying bills.
- All carers who attended have noticed a change and have incorporated differing coping strategies to help to mitigate the pressures.
We went on to ask carers if they think that their lifestyle will be affected this winter.
- All carers expected to be cutting back on food spending and heating usage, and a few were feeling stressed about paying bills.
We spoke about Healthwatch priorities and that each year we ask people in our community which areas of health and social care they think we should focus our work on.
The Carers centre suggested that Healthwatch Wandsworth should consider some of the following as a priority for the coming year.
- One person said that there appears to be a gap in mental health services for those people with mental health and learning difficulties. This carer’s experience has been that the community mental health teams don’t appear to provide help or accept people until they have a psychotic event.
- Carers have reported that it is getting harder to get access to a GP and that a lot of GPs are causing inequalities by only offering the opportunity of getting an appointment at a certain time or online.
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For example. one person said that at their GP surgery, there is a procedure to call on the day at 8:00 am to get an appointment that day but if someone is caring for a family member, they may not be able to do this, they felt that there needs to be more thought and flexibility.
- One carer told us that her husband cannot go to the pharmacy and get his medication, he now has to visit the GP and pick up his prescriptions, which they did not find helpful.
- The carers informed us of the impact of having learning difficulties and autism. They said that people are only receiving a standard sensory test and said that it was difficult to pick up people with learning difficulties and autism from this test, so they thought people are falling through the net.
- There was a consensus that hospital discharge should remain a priority as the group thought people are not being contacted when discharged from the hospital and are going to the Carer’s Centre for support. The group felt that they are not being referred to the services in the community to support their recovery.
- General mental health support for all, the group thought there was an increase in the need.
If you’d like to share your thoughts on the questions we discussed, you can participate by completing our short online survey which will take about ten minutes to complete:
If you would prefer to complete this survey by phone call 020 8516 7767 between 10 am – 4 pm Monday to Friday or email enquiries@healthwatchwandsworth.co.uk
Or additionally, we would welcome visiting your group to speak to people. Please contact Delia Fitzsimmons at delia@wandcareall.org.uk
Our website: https://www.healthwatchwandsworth.co.uk/
Post: Healthwatch Wandsworth, Tooting Works, 3rd Floor, 89 Bickersteth Road, London, SW17 9SH.
