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Abacare supports ‘Brew Monday’ campaign to help tackle loneliness
| Published: 12th February 2020 14:24 |
AN AWARD-WINNING care agency is supporting The Samaritans’ ‘Blue Monday’ campaign and is urging the people of Wales to have a brew with their nearest and dearest this month (February, 2020).
The initiative encourages people across the country to get together with friends, family or colleagues to have a conversation together and reconnect over a cuppa.
Neil Griffiths, Regional Manager at Abacare, which provides care across Wales, said: “We think The Samaritans’ ‘Brew Monday’ campaign is a fantastic way to help tackle loneliness, especially among the elderly, so we’re encouraging the kind folk of Wales to check in on their neighbours, friends or family members and have a cuppa and catch up.
“This time of year is known for being more depressing as there is a bit of a lull after the Christmas celebrations and the weather is constantly gloomy. This means it’s the perfect time for getting together with others.
“It doesn’t have to be a Monday, it can be any day you fancy and you can even turn it into a regular event. That way you all have something to look forward to. Why not try taking it outside and head to a café or, when the weather warms up, enjoy a flask of tea alfresco?
“Loneliness is currently an epidemic across England and Wales, so we need to make sure we are doing all we can for anyone we know that might live alone and not see or speak to family for long periods of time. Campaigns such as this can really help, and we can guarantee that whatever you do with an older person, will really brighten up their day.”
People who want to get involved can even raise money for The Samaritans by hosting events where people can connect over a cuppa. Fundraising kits are available from https://www.samaritans.org/support-us/campaign/brew-monday/.
The number of people aged 50 plus experiencing loneliness is set to reach two million by 2025/26 according to the Campaign to End Loneliness. There are currently 1.2 million chronically lonely older people in the UK.
The recent National Survey for Wales showed that 17% of people in Wales were lonely and 54% of people experienced some feelings of loneliness.
Abacare operates a professional Care Management Team that is committed to providing high quality care to individuals in their own homes.
The large team of trained, specialist, care workers provide positive outcomes based and person-centred care to people throughout the UK.
Neil added: “Our carers will certainly be supporting the initiative when they visit our service users on their calls, and they will be encouraged to brew up. Often our carers can be the only friendly face service users see, so chatting with them and making them feel extra special is all part of our expert care.”
Abacare’s core values, instilled into every staff member, include ‘make us proud’, ‘focus on our service users’ wellbeing’, ‘communicate, listen well and speak with respect’, ‘be passionate, honest, caring and considerate’, ‘recruit and develop the very best’ and ‘lead by example’.
Abacare is creating employment for hundreds of new carers this year and is offering flexible and supported learning for those wishing to advance their careers.
No experience is necessary to become a carer as free, full training is offered, which includes a company induction, first aid, information on dementia, health and safety, food safety, infection control, handling medication and moving and handling service users, with the opportunity to achieve Qualification and Credit Framework (QCF) after the initial three months probationary period.
New recruits are given free uniforms, access to national staff discount scheme for all major brands as well as 28 days paid holiday, paid travel between calls and paid mileage.
Neil added: “Being a carer is a highly skilled, professional vocational occupation that is essential to the fabric of our society and the beauty of a job for life means people can start by training with us and work their way up the career ladder gaining further training and qualifications. In today’s changing world of employment, we pride ourselves on being able to offer long-term job security and career prospects.”
Abacare is a member of the United Kingdom Homecare Association, Ceretas (formerly British Association of Domiciliary Care), The National Homecare Council and The Information Commissioners Office (Data Protection). It is also registered with the Care Inspectorate Wales.
For more information about Abacare, please visit www.abacare.org.uk. Alternatively, please follow the company on Facebook at http://bit.ly/2PgKK2K or on Twitter by visiting www.twitter.com/visitabacare.
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