From left Rebecca Jervis, Head of Commissioning Vulnerable Adults at Carers First, Caroline Pope Interim Chief Executive Officer, Priti Patel MP and Hazel Throssell, Carer Support & Assessment Co-ordinator
Priti Patel MP visits Carers First, the support group for those who do the caring
Priti Patel, the MP for Witham, has visited Carers First at their branch in Braintree (28th May), a group offering support for unpaid carers across Essex and countrywide. The MP was given a tour of the building and a briefing about the work they do to support people of all ages who are carers for relatives, siblings and friends with health issues. There are 31,882 carers in Essex who work for more than 50 hours per week in caring for someone.
After her visit Priti said: “Carers First are doing wonderful work in providing information, advice, guidance, emotional support, training and activities all designed to give carers an opportunity to have an occasional and much needed break from their caring role. Society owes a great debt to the many people who selflessly care for others, which can be very demanding of their time and place a great strain on their personal lives. They need and deserve the support provided by Carers First.”
“I would like to see a more coordinated, community-based approach to the provision of social care, using the model provided by Carers First, More work also needs to be done in schools because there are too many children caring for parents with health issues.”
During her discussions with the Carers First team, Priti cited examples where her constituents were having difficulties in accessing care support services and identified partnership opportunities where working with General Practices and local councils could help to coordinate information and services.