Devon Carers, a free service by Westbank Community Health and Care, is this month celebrating 25 years of supporting unpaid carers across the county and is planning several events throughout the coming year as part of its landmark anniversary.
The charity provides a wide range of support services to those who look after family members or friends because they are ill, frail, or have a disability, mental health or substance misuse problem.
Over the last two and a half decades, Westbank’s Devon Carers has grown to be one of the largest charitable organisations in the UK...
Do you look after someone who couldn’t manage without your help? There are at least 74,000 people in Devon who do, and Westbank’s Devon Carers is a free service to help them, delivered by Westbank Community Health and Care, and funded by Devon County Council and the NHS.
Westbank’s Devon Carers is hosting a free Information Fair for unpaid carers on Carers’ Rights Day, Thursday 23rd November, at the Exeter Phoenix in Gandy Street from 10 am to 4 pm. Carers Rights Day - a national event - is run every year to ensure carers are aware of their rights, know where to get help and...
In response to this year’s Carers Week (5-11th June) theme ‘Recognising and supporting carers in the community’, the organisation that supports thousands of unpaid carers across Devon is highlighting the invaluable role carers undertake, which saves the NHS and Social Care organisations across the county an estimated £2.324 billion a year!
Around 75,000 adults provide care for a family member, friend or neighbour in Devon. Many are supported by Devon Carers, one of the services provided by local charity Westbank Community Health and Care. However, many people with caring...
In Devon, approximately 135,000 people look after someone who couldn’t manage without their help and receive no payment for it. Some are new to caring, while others have cared for a family member, friend or neighbour for some time. It’s an invaluable role but carers often feel alone or unsupported, particularly in light of the current cost-of-living crisis.
Devon Carers, part of Westbank Community Health and Care, is hosting a free Information and Advice Fair specifically for unpaid carers on Carers Rights Day. The event will take place on Thursday 24th November at the Exeter...
Do you care for a loved one who is vulnerable to flu or Covid-19? Would the person you care for be at risk if you were unwell? If so, and you are aged over 16, you are eligible for free seasonal flu and Autumn booster Covid-19 vaccinations.
As a carer, whether paid or unpaid, you’re more likely to be exposed to the flu and Covid-19 viruses.
If you care for someone who may be at greater risk, it’s easy to pass these viruses on without knowing.
NHS Devon’s Deputy Chief Nurse, Susan Masters said: “Both flu and Covid-19 can...
Thousands of unpaid family carers across Devon, who were already experiencing financial hardship after having to give up paid work to perform their caring role, are being pushed deeper into debt and poverty, according to Devon Carers. Devon Carers is a service provided by local charity Westbank Community Health and Care, based at Exminster, near Exeter.
Even before the pandemic, a funding crisis in the social care system meant thousands of unpaid family carers in Devon and across the South West were under real pressure. Funding cuts and the closure of local care services have...
Exeter MP Ben Bradshaw has been striding through Westminster - walking A Mile with a Smile - to help raise awareness of the everyday challenges faced by unpaid carers and the enormous contribution they make to families and communities throughout Devon.
It’s the first time Ben has taken part in the awareness raising event organised by Devon Carers, which was started during Carers Week two years ago. Devon Carers is a service delivered by Devon-based charity Westbank Community Health and Care that supports over 22,000 unpaid carers across the county. Carers Week is an annual national...
An online series of webinars starting next month aim to help parents and carers understand and support their teenagers to navigate the challenges they might face as they grow up in today’s world .
‘Let’s Talk Teenagers’ is a three part webinar for parents and carers of teenagers or pre-teens. The sessions cover different subject areas starting with communities and family life (March 8) and followed by respectful relationships (March 15) and building stronger families (March 22), all at 7pm.
It’s the result of a Devon partnership of professionals and local networks that...
Over two consecutive nights (21st - 22nd October, 6.15 pm - 10.15 pm) a large, hand-drawn animation of a Devon carer and her son will be projected onto the Exeter Phoenix Building as part of a collaborative project to celebrate the millions of unpaid carers who work around the clock looking after their friends and family at home. Research shows their role has been made even harder by the closure of support services during the COVID crisis.
Spotlight on Care is an emotive contemporary art project inspired by a collaboration between Exeter-based illustrator-animator Leo Jamelli and...
Exeter-based illustrator-animator Leo Jamelli is collaborating with University of Exeter academics Dr Siobhan O’Dwyer and Dr Catriona McKenzie on an emotive contemporary art project entitled Spotlight on Care.
He's created a hand-drawn animation of an unpaid carer from Exeter which will be projected onto the Exeter Phoenix after dark in late October. The two-storey high projection will celebrate the millions who work around the clock caring for family and friends at home. Research shows their role has been made even harder by the closure of support services during the COVID crisis...
