Carer Voices 2021 round up

Stay up-to-date with this year’s work from the ALLIANCE Carer Voices project.

The ALLIANCE’s Carer Voices project has had a very busy year of digital outreach and reaching incredible milestones in our engagement work. The project is committed to platforming the voice of unpaid carers, and working closely with health and social care staff to progress the principles of person centredness. This year we’ve been able to connect into new sectors and build new partnerships with Scottish Government directorates, statutory bodies, and third sector organisations.

This year we have been delighted to continue to deliver our You Make a Difference (Intelligent Kindness- What Matters to You? – Civility Saves Lives) events. It has been an honour to see the impact of these sessions on the work of those we have engaged with. We have worked closely with the third sector in taking forward the key messages of our sessions, and were privileged to host a number of extended ALLIANCE Members Events across our diverse membership network.

We have been privileged that unpaid carers have connected with us and shared their stories this year. Through our Conversation Café, short films, ALLIANCE Lives and case studies we have aimed to highlight the priorities of Scotland’s carers, especially during this difficult year. We brought this commitment into our work within policy development. Carer Voices’ National Lead for Caring and Outreach, Tommy Whitelaw, was pleased to be invited by the Cabinet Secretary, Humza Yousaf, to represent the ALLIANCE on the Scottish Government’s Social Covenant Steering Group (this link will take you away from our website).

This year also marked a big anniversary in the life of the project. June saw 10 years since the beginning of National Lead for Caring and Outreach, Tommy Whitelaw’s campaign work, Letters, Life and Love Stories (this link will take you away from our website). In June 2011 whilst caring full-time for Joan, who had Vascular Dementia, Tommy organised a campaign walk across Scotland to speak to carers. In doing so he collected hundreds of individual stories and experiences about caring for loved ones. To mark this anniversary the Carer Voices team hosted the Inaugural Joan Whitelaw lecture, held as part of the ALLIANCE annual conference, in honour of his mum, Joan.

Read below for a full breakdown and links of everything we’ve been busy doing in 2021.

Outreach

Our You Make a Difference (Intelligent Kindness- What Matters to You – Civility Saves Lives) sessions encourage valued-based reflective practice on the principles of person centred care and support. At the beginning of the pandemic we adapted our in-person talks to digital delivery, and in doing so have been able to engage with people like never before. This year we have been privileged to partner with numerous partners across Scottish Government Directorates, statutory bodies, third sector organisations, universities and NHS boards to deliver key messages to colleagues. Since the pandemic began we have now reached over 22,300 individuals through 413 sessions. This brings our total figure for engagement over the last 6 years to 247,300 individuals over 1450 sessions.

Conversation Café

In January we launched our Carers Conversation Café, bringing unpaid carers from across Scotland together (virtually) to connect, listen and share with each other. The monthly sessions have functioned as a valuable peer support network.

We were pleased to be joined on occasion by special guests, who delivered short informal presentations on a range of topics. A big thanks to Andy Lowndes, Playlist for Life’s Music Detective, Audrey Birt ALLIANCE Associate Director , Jodie Wilkinson from GFT’s Movie Memories, and Kathryn Hanna from Pathways sculpture project for supporting our sessions.

Publications

We published our latest short film which placed a spotlight on unpaid carers across Scotland. Participants joined  from Shetland to South Ayrshire, and represent the diversity within carer experience. Carers shared what matters most to them when caring for a loved one, with responses including respite, being listened to, and being equal partners in decision making. The film is introduced by Irene Oldfather, ALLIANCE Director of Strategic Partnerships and Engagement, and closed by Tommy Whitelaw, ALLIANCE National Lead for Caring and Outreach. It also features a contribution from Shaun Maher, Strategic Advisor on Person centred Care and Quality Improvement at the Scottish Government, and Chair of the WMTY Scot steering group.

Carer Voices also partnered with Social Security Scotland over 2020-2021 to deliver a series of 40+ Intelligent Kindness learning and development sessions across 1,400 staff. The resulting joint flash report incorporates feedback from Social Security Scotland colleagues who participated in the sessions, and was collected through an internal evaluation survey. Social Security Scotland colleagues spoke positively on the impact the sessions had on their work, practice and personal life, and the new perspectives they gained as a result. Ongoing surveys with a new cohort of colleagues now reveals that 100% of those who participate in our sessions can see the positive impact on their work.

Social Security Scotland has since established an Intelligent Kindness cross-organisational working group and are a registered organisation for What Matters to You Day 2021 on 9 June.

We also launched our Keep Well with Carer Voices animation (this link will take you away from our website) film which promotes innovative approaches to wellbeing that had been led by the team throughout the pandemic.

Events

June saw the 10 year anniversary of National Lead for Caring and Outreach, Tommy Whitelaw’s campaign work, Letters, Life and Love Stories. To mark this anniversary the Carer Voices team hosted the Inaugural Joan Whitelaw lecture, held as part of the ALLIANCE annual conference. The session, chaired by ALLIANCE Director Irene Oldfather, featured keynote lectures from Henry Simmons, Chief Executive at Alzheimer Scotland, and Maureen Bisognano, Professor Emeritus at IHI.

You can watch a recording of the session here (this link will take you away from our website).

We were also very pleased to host a panel discussion at the ALLIANCE conference on the principles of What Matters To You? (this link will take you away from our website).

You can watch a recording of the session here (this link will take you away from our website)

In October, we were honoured to be joined by the Cabinet Secretary for Health and Social Care, Humza Yousaf, and Deputy Clinical Director Dr John Harden, for a session with unpaid carers. The session was an opportunity for the Cabinet Secretary to hear and respond directly to carers about their concerns in the context of COVID-19 restrictions easing.

Social Covenant Steering Group

This summer Cabinet Secretary Humza Yousaf and Minister for Social Care Kevin Stewart established the Social Covenant Steering Group, set up to help guide the development of a National Care Service. We have been very pleased that initial membership of the group includes Carer Voices’ Tommy Whitelaw.

In order to ensure that Group members have a safe space to share experiences and reflect informally on discussions, Tommy formed the SCSG Conversation Café.

ALLIANCE Live

Tommy Whitelaw spoke with Shaun Maher, Scottish Government Advisor on person centred care on the importance of the ‘What Matters to You?’ movement.

You can watch the full interview here (this link will take you away from our website).

We spoke with Hannah Martin, Research Officer at Carers Trust Scotland, about key emerging findings from their study into the effect of COVID-19 on unpaid carers and care workers.

You can watch the full interview here ( this link will take you away from our website).

On International Nurses Day 2021 we were joined by Amanda Croft, former Chief Nursing Officer, who shared the important values of the nursing profession.

You can watch the full interview here (this link will take you away from our website).

Tommy had the honour of interviewing Dr Gregor Smith, Chief Medical Officer for Scotland, around key areas and themes drawn from his annual report Recovery, Restoring and Renewing.

You can watch the full interview here (this link will take you away from our website).

Tommy spoke with Amanda McCarren from tide carers, about their newly published toolkits for families and care workers.

You can watch the full interview here (this link will take you away from our website).

Jen Stewart, Policy and Membership Development Officer and member of the Carer Voices team, spoke with Emma Brown, Services Marketing Officer for Guide Dogs Scotland, about the work they do to support children, their families and carers.

You can watch the full interview here (this link will take you away from our website).

In October we marked National Allied Health Professions Day with an interview with Chief Allied Professions Officer, Carolyn McDonald, and also with Dr Jodi Binning from NHS AAA on their Spaces for Listening project.

You can watch the full interview with the CAHPO here (this link will take you away form our website).

You can watch the full interview on the Spaces for Listening Project here (this link will take you away from our website).

For UK Malnutrition Awareness Week, Tommy spoke with Danielle Redmond-Gray, Digital Communications Officer at Eat Well Age Well and Food Train.

You can watch the full interview here (this link will take you away from our website).

To mark Occupational Therapy week in October we were very pleased to speak with Steve Ford CEO of the Royal College of Occupational Therapists.

You can watch the full interview here (this link will take you away from our website).

Case Studies and Opinion Pieces

Hear from our friends at United Lincolnshire Hospitals on embedding a ‘What matters to you?’ approach in their wards.

A nursing student at UWS shared a poem with us in honour of her gran in a care home.

Staff at Pilgrim Hospital (ULH) wards A and E reflect on celebrating WMTY day for staff and patients.

Colleagues from Lancashire and South Cumbria NHS Foundation Trust reflect on their initiative to centre individuals within the care they receive, the HARRI bus.

Colleagues from Blue Triangle Housing Association share a story of listening and acting on what mattered

Learn more about NHS Lothian’s Kindness is the Secret project. In autumn Tommy, who sponsors the work, was able to attend a celebration ceremony for those who had completed the programme, and to launch cohort two.

Stay up-to-date with Social Security Scotland’s work to centre Intelligent Kindness and WMTY in their organisation.

Hear from the Podiatry team at NHS Borders about the important role podiatrists have in people’s health and wellbeing. 

Groups

The Carer Voices team also have representation on a number of groups, in order to ensure that policy developments are informed by the voices of carers. These include Social Security Scotland’s Inclusive Communications Stakeholder Reference Group; NHS 24 Breathing Space Steering Group; What Matters to You Scotland and World Steering Groups; Cross-party groups on Carers, Dementia and Life Sciences; the Dementia Programme Board; Dementia Strategy Implementation Group; Dementia in Care Homes Meeting Group; Older People’s Development Group; Compassionate Care Steering Group and the Social Covenant Steering Group.

Stay in touch

If you have any queries about our work then email carervoices@alliance-scotland.org.uk (this link will take you away from our website).

Follow us on Twitter @ALLIANCECarerVo (this link will take you away from our website).

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