To mark Carers Week 2023, a North East charity brought together 50 carers for a luxury event to say thank you for their vital, often unrecognised, service to the North East community.
Newcastle Carers, an independent charity that supports adults, children and young people who care for someone living in Newcastle upon Tyne, organised the luxury afternoon tea event at Arthur’s Bar, Fenwick to celebrate and thank the often overlooked carers from across the city.
According to Census data, the North East region has the largest proportion of people providing unpaid care and is the region with the largest proportion of people providing more than 50 hours of unpaid care a week. The charity currently supports over 7000 unpaid carers in Newcastle, supporting each person to improve their quality of life and to overcome the challenges they face.
Austin McNamara, Interim CEO of Newcastle Carers said, “We work with carers to provide a space for them to talk and be heard. Not only was this event a chance to celebrate their incredible contributions, it was also a chance to bring people together from what may be isolating or upsetting situations and give them a chance to meet other carers and hopefully form long-lasting connections. Without the critical work that everyone in that room, and in our network, deliver, the health and social care system would be in even greater crisis than it already is.
“Carers are the unsung of our community economy here in the region – finding from a recent study by Carers UK and the University of Sheffield show unpaid carers in the North East contribute £9 billion to the economy every year and according to a new report published by Carers Week, 19 million people in the UK have provided unpaid care – but haven’t identified as a carer. These report findings demonstrate the need for Government and all areas of society to play a role in supporting millions of people to identify their caring role and get help. We are calling on the UK Government to deliver coordinated cross-Government action to better identify and support unpaid carers, especially here in the North East where we see a disproportionate amount of people providing unpaid care to family and friends.”
Attendees at the event, which was supported by Newcastle City Council, NHS North East and North Cumbria Integrated Care Board, were treated to an afternoon tea, music from the talented, local singer-songwriter Annabel Pattison and hand-picked goodie bags gifted by Fenwick. One carer who took part in the day said, “I felt like a VIP from the moment I walked into the room. It was wonderful to meet people in similar situations and it really helped me to unwind. I want to say thank you to everyone who put the event together, it was really special and it meant a lot to us to get a break from our caring duties.”
Carers Week was held from 5 to 11 June 2023. The theme for this year’s Carers Week was “Recognising and supporting carers in the community”. This is an annual campaign to raise awareness of caring, highlight the challenges unpaid carers face and recognise the contribution they make to families and communities throughout the UK. It also helps people who don’t think of themselves as having caring responsibilities to identify as carers and access much-needed support.
For more information on Newcastle Carers and their work in the region please visit www.newcastlecarers.org.uk
