Bradford District Care NHS Foundation Trust will be opening a new branch of the Carers Hub at Dyneley House Surgery in Skipton, the carers pop up café, on Wednesday 29 November 2017, and will provide vital support for people caring for loved ones.

Stephen Place, Chairman of Craven District Council will officially open the new facility run by the Trust.  The new carers pop up café will offer a place for carers to meet, recharge their batteries and gain access to free advice and information, making a real difference to people caring for family and friends.  Professional and clinical staff will provide information on relevant topics and health awareness sessions, and a timetable of free activities such as art and pampering sessions, quiz and games activities will also be available through the hub.

This new facility will complement the Trust’s other Carers Hubs in Bradford at Horton Park Health Centre and Lynfield Mount Hospital. It will be open for carers to use weekly on a Wednesday, between 12.30am and 3.00pm. The Care Trust is working closely with Carers Resource to enhance carer provision in Craven with the new facility.

Carer Sara Firth, aged 52, welcomed the launch of the carers pop up café.  Despite having health conditions of her own, supportive and dedicated Sara, has been the main carer for her husband, Firdy, since he was diagnosed with early and rapid onset Alzheimer’s disease at the age of 67 in 2015. Sara and their six children were left devastated by the diagnosis and watching their loved one struggling with the disease.  Sara said: “The onset of the condition was extremely rapid; in March 2015 he was still working and by June 2015 he had been formally diagnosed.  Even to this day we have not managed to fully get our heads around the devastation. This is my soulmate.  We’ve always been really close and done everything together and all of a sudden this person, who I love, slowly started to disappear.  I had to stay strong for the children and they stayed strong for me. The Care Trust was great and supported us all through this difficult time.”

Commenting on the new branch of the Carers Hub opening, Sara said: “It will help carers who reside in Craven feel so much more connected and help reduce isolation. When I was working in the Craven area, and the first branch of the Carers Hub first opened two years ago at Horton Park in Bradford, I was concerned that carers living in Craven would encounter difficulties accessing the Carers Hub activities, as they were Bradford-based, so it’s great that the Care Trust has listened and acted upon the feedback.  It will make such a difference to the people in Craven who are caring for loved ones. It will enable them to recharge, meet likeminded people in similar situations and access support to help them in their caring roles.”

In support of the new branch of the Carers Hub opening Trust Board members Mike Smith, Chair, Nicola Lees, Chief Executive, Paul Hogg, Director of Corporate Affairs and Debra Gilderdale, Director of Operations and Nursing will be in attendance at the special launch event.

Tracey Corner, Bradford District Care NHS Foundation Trust Patient Experience Lead, said: “Following the success of the Carers Hub in Bradford, we recognised there was a need for the service to be expanded; this has also been in response to feedback we’ve received from carers from the Craven area who have welcomed the opening of the new branch. We have worked closely with the surgery to develop the service, which will benefit carers in the Craven district.”

Nicola Lees, Chief Executive of Bradford District Care Foundation Trust said: “The Trust recognises the fundamental role that carers play in helping family, friends and neighbours in the treatment and recovery process.  We are delighted the new branch of the Carers Hub, the carers pop up café, will offer a place for carers to have some time for themselves to help them in their caring roles.”

To find out more about the Carers Hub please visit https://www.bdct.nhs.uk/service-users-carers/support-for-carers/