The South East Essex Ageing Well Carers Intensive Support team is a finalist in the HSJ Patient Safety Awards for the category of Improving Care for Older People Initiative of the Year.
The team helps people who are struggling to cope with looking after themselves and their loved ones to access vital care and support.
Essex Partnership University NHS Foundation Trust (EPUT) piloted the service in April 2022 after staff noticed a large rise in family carers who were struggling to cope during the Covid pandemic.
It received 193 referrals in the first six months and has received 1,083 referrals to date.
The Carers Intensive Support Team helps people who are either looking after someone who has dementia, or are aged over 65 and looking after someone also aged over 65 who has frailty, a mental health condition, or is receiving palliative care.
They help families access support for their health and wellbeing, financial concerns, respite care, and any other services that will ease worry and pressure on how they will continue caring for their loved one as well as themselves.
Carers also receive a comprehensive health and wellbeing check, which looks at their physical, mental, emotional and social health and wellbeing.
The service covers Southend, Castle Point and Rochford.
Nancy Smith, Carers Intensive Support Lead for EPUT’s Older Adult Mental Health, Dementia and Frailty Service, South East Essex, said: “These checks help with early identification of respiratory disease and high blood pressure, as well as deteriorating mental health or long term health conditions.
“We have detected many physical and mental health issues and prevented further deterioration by ensuring they receive further care.
Among the carers who are grateful for the team’s support are Jodean Butcher, who is a full time carer for her mum, who was diagnosed with Alzheimer’s in 2020.
Jodean said she was okay until one Christmas about two years ago, when she started to feel very low and isolated.
She contacted the Carers Intensive Support Team and spoke to a Carer Support Worker who she said “literally put me back together again”.
The team helped her to organise respite care and other help and support, including therapy.
Jodean said: “I now feel like I can cope with the role (of being a carer). I’m in control and I feel really positive.
“I am very happy to keep looking after my mum and do the very best by her that I can.”
Winifred Cass, whose husband is receiving palliative care, said: “Knowing there’s someone there you can pick the phone up to, they will listen and come and see you and get things sorted – without their service I don’t know how my husband and myself would manage.”
Norman Dear, whose wife had dementia, said: “Their understanding of our predicament, and their friendship, you can’t measure it.
“They made my wife feel probably almost 100% better than she did before.
“Frankly they were angels, godsends. I don’t know what we would have done without them.”
The Ageing Well Carers Intensive Support team is one of nine finalists in their category in the HSJ Patient Safety Awards. The winner will be announced in September.
Spencer Dinnâge, Operational Service Manager for EPUT’s Older People’s Community Mental Health, Dementia and Frailty in mid and south Essex, said: “Being shortlisted as finalists in the HSJ Patient Safety Awards is a testament to the unwavering dedication and hard work of the team.
“Our commitment to improving outcomes by supporting vulnerable and ageing carers in the most complex situations is at the core of our mission.
“We are proud to be recognised at this national level for our efforts in improving care and the safety for older people.”
Department of Health and Social Care figures estimate there are about 17,873 family carers aged over 18 in south east Essex, and 21% of the area’s population are frail.
Visit our South East Essex Dementia and Older Peoples Community Mental Health Service page for more information on the service.
For more information on care and support available to carers, visit the Carers UK website.