Orkney Carers’ Conference – Sarah’s story

Sarah Norquoy cares for her mum, Liz, who is living with Dementia.

Sarah has been carrying out increasing levels of family care since 2019 and earlier this year made the difficult decision to give up her job.

“It was just impossible to keep managing the two,” Sarah said.

She will be attending the first ever Orkney Carers’ Conference on Thursday 18 May at the Picky Centre to explore the support options available to them as a family as they journey together on this, the next stage of life.

“I saw the advert for the Carers’ Conference and decided I would do my best to get there. The mental load with caring is enormous and as we are all aware there’s a national crisis around Home Care and has been for quite some time.”

You can register to take part in the Conference here https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/.../orkney-carers-conference...

The day will run from 9:45am through to around 2pm and there will be an option to attend online. Attendance is free and lunch is provided.

Sarah says her parents greatest wish is to end their days at home together and she is determined to make that happen if at all possible.

“I need to know what my options are as it’s a bit of a minefield so the Carers’ Conference will help me explore that.”

Its estimated there could be around 3,000 unpaid carers in Orkney – with only around 400 currently seeking support.

Unpaid carers play a vital role helping people who otherwise would experience a greatly diminished quality of life. But caring is demanding, and many carers are unaware they’re entitled to support too.

Crossroads have been a huge source of help to Sarah and her family.

“Once they helped me get ongoing support in place, I was able to regain some confidence and perspective too,” Sarah said.

Carers can be young people looking after parents, adults looking after elderly relatives, or a friend or neighbour looking out for someone they know.

All unpaid carers in Scotland are eligible for support to help them care, under the Carers (Scotland) Act.

In Orkney, Crossroads Care are the organisation appointed by Orkney Health and Care to support carers.

Crossroads Care Orkney can offer advice, information, emotional support and advocacy, and free respite care for unpaid carers so they can take a break from caring.

To talk about your caring role and the kind of support you could access, contact Crossroads Care Orkney on 01856 870500 or by email carers@crossroadsorkney.co.uk, or visit them at Kirkwall Travel Centre, West Castle Street, Kirkwall KW151GU.

You can also visit the NHS Inform website https://www.nhsinform.scot/caring or contact Orkney Islands Council's Social Work team by calling 01856 873535 or emailing Orkney Health and Care OHACfeedback@orkney.gov.uk (This email is monitored office hours only).

To read more about the conference and guest speakers head here https://www.orkney.gov.uk/News?postid=7446