Learning Resources for Carers

<v Beth Wylie>to support carers,
but we're not just talking about in the</v>
<v Beth Wylie>workplace,
we're talking about in the community as</v>
<v Beth Wylie>well.
So how do we help people balance those</v>
<v Beth Wylie>things?
We'll give an overview and snapshot of</v>
<v Beth Wylie>the support that's available in-house
within the University of Edinburgh,</v>
<v Beth Wylie>and we'll also give you an overview of
the services that are available.</v>
<v Beth Wylie>via vocal, because we are Edinburgh,
however, this...</v>
<v Beth Wylie>This session applies no matter where you
are in Scotland,</v>
<v Beth Wylie>people travel far and wide and people
might be caring for people all over the</v>
<v Beth Wylie>UK and possibly even afar. So this</v>
<v Beth Wylie>This session applies no matter where you
are and we will share relevant resources</v>
<v Beth Wylie>to capture that as well.
So it's not just a vocal centric kind of</v>
<v Beth Wylie>session.</v>
<v Beth Wylie>It's an emotional topic,
talking about caring.</v>
<v Beth Wylie>It affects a lot of us and if you do need
to step away and take some time,</v>
<v Beth Wylie>please do.
It's not uncommon for people to come</v>
<v Beth Wylie>along to a session like this and realise
that actually what they're doing is</v>
<v Beth Wylie>caring themselves for the first time and
that</v>
<v Beth Wylie>can be quite, you know, quite emotional.
My details are on the slide at the front.</v>
<v Beth Wylie>Or you can kind of message me offline
because you'll have my details through</v>
<v Beth Wylie>Teams after today.
But please do contact me if you want to</v>
<v Beth Wylie>talk about your own care and all.
I want a little bit of support about that</v>
<v Beth Wylie>in next steps. And that is a genuine.</v>
<v Beth Wylie>Officer.</v>
<v Beth Wylie>I like a lively session.
I know we've got a large group today,</v>
<v Beth Wylie>but I like I like a good bit of chat.
Trying to keep my eyes everywhere on the</v>
<v Beth Wylie>chat.
So we're going to be using Slido today</v>
<v Beth Wylie>and the chat function to kind of make the
content a little bit more engaging,</v>
<v Beth Wylie>because let's face it,
who wants to listen to a Geordie patter</v>
<v Beth Wylie>on?</v>
<v Beth Wylie>Going that way.</v>
<v Beth Wylie>And in that tone,
we're going to kick off with the Slido.</v>
<v Beth Wylie>We're going to have a bit of a fun quiz
to start off with to kind of get a sense</v>
<v Beth Wylie>of where people are at.
So I'll give people a moment to join</v>
<v Beth Wylie>Slido.
So you can either hover your camera on</v>
<v Beth Wylie>your phone over the QR code there and
it'll join, it'll take you to the quiz.</v>
<v Beth Wylie>Or you can join on your desktop at slido.
com.</v>
<v Beth Wylie>and pop in hashtag 1104420.
So I'll give people a moment.</v>
<v Beth Wylie>You've clearly all done this before.
I am loving the fast uptake. Brilliant,</v>
<v Beth Wylie>because we do have a lot of content to
get through today. Also,</v>
<v Beth Wylie>if Slido isn't your bag, that's okay.
Pop answers in the chat.</v>
<v Beth Wylie>I will try and keep my eyes everywhere.</v>
<v Beth Wylie>And this.</v>
<v Beth Wylie>Fab.</v>
<v Beth Wylie>Oh, this is great!</v>
<v Beth Wylie>Brilliant. Well,
I'm going to get going and you can join</v>
<v Beth Wylie>as we go along.
Just I'm very aware that we've got a lot</v>
<v Beth Wylie>to get through today.</v>
<v Beth Wylie>So.</v>
<v Beth Wylie>Oh, our people are coming along some more.
Right. We've got to get going.</v>
<v Beth Wylie>First question, 20 seconds.
How many unpaid carers do you think are</v>
<v Beth Wylie>living in Scotland?
Four 100 and fifty-six 1000,</v>
<v Beth Wylie>600 and twenty-seven 1000, 900, 1500.</v>
<v Beth Wylie>Fastest fingers.</v>
<v Beth Wylie>Yeah, interesting, isn't it? What do we...
Yeah, 627,700, actually,</v>
<v Beth Wylie>I didn't put that in.
We have a lot of carers in our community.</v>
<v Beth Wylie>1000 people become carers every single
day in Scotland,</v>
<v Beth Wylie>and three in five of us are expected to
be affected by caring at some point.</v>
<v Beth Wylie>in our lives.
So this is how wide this topic is in our</v>
<v Beth Wylie>communities.</v>
<v Beth Wylie>What age group do you think is most
likely to be providing care? 16 to 24,</v>
<v Beth Wylie>25 to 44, 45 to 64 or 65 and above?</v>
<v Beth Wylie>Yeah, most of you got that right.
People are most likely to become carers</v>
<v Beth Wylie>between the ages of 45 and 64. You know,
this is often when parents, partners,</v>
<v Beth Wylie>or other kind of family members begin to
start maybe needing some extra support.</v>
<v Beth Wylie>And in Scotland, this means that 400,
000 people are doing this and balancing</v>
<v Beth Wylie>work and care.</v>
<v Beth Wylie>And that's really interesting when we
start unpicking this a little bit more</v>
<v Beth Wylie>when we think about who these people are
in our workforce. I mean, at that point,</v>
<v Beth Wylie>you've probably been in your career for
quite a while and be very experienced and</v>
<v Beth Wylie>very knowledgeable.</v>
<v Beth Wylie>You only count as a carer if you provide
personal care,</v>
<v Beth Wylie>such as washing or dressing.</v>
<v Beth Wylie>You start to say that we start to say,
well, actually,</v>
<v Beth Wylie>I'm not too sure about that.
You don't have to provide personal care,</v>
<v Beth Wylie>like washing or dressing to be a carer.
Carers carry out a wide range of</v>
<v Beth Wylie>activities,
such as things like emotional health,</v>
<v Beth Wylie>managing appointments, practical tasks,
and they are doing this more and more in</v>
<v Beth Wylie>the absence of health and social care
services. So as</v>
<v Beth Wylie>Support services in our communities are
shrinking and people are taking on more</v>
<v Beth Wylie>and more role.
We're all supporting families and friends</v>
<v Beth Wylie>in our communities.</v>
<v Beth Wylie>But there's something about personal care,
people are providing personal care,</v>
<v Beth Wylie>they kind of find it easy to identify as
a carer for some reason,</v>
<v Beth Wylie>but actually caring is incredibly wide
raging.</v>
<v Beth Wylie>Basically if you're doing something
because somebody else can't,</v>
<v Beth Wylie>you are caring.</v>
<v Beth Wylie>How many hours of care do you need to
provide to be considered an unpaid carer?</v>
<v Beth Wylie>At least 15,
over 35 or there is no minimum?</v>
<v Beth Wylie>Yeah, again,
you start to see that people have like,</v>
<v Beth Wylie>oh, actually, I'm not too sure.
So caring isn't defined by the number of</v>
<v Beth Wylie>hours that you provide,
but more about the responsibilities that</v>
<v Beth Wylie>you take on.
So those tasks that we've just been</v>
<v Beth Wylie>talking about.
So there's no minimum hour threshold.</v>
<v Beth Wylie>If you have caring responsibilities,
you're a carer.</v>
<v Beth Wylie>You're only recognised as a parent carer
once your child has a formal diagnosis.</v>
<v Beth Wylie>This is one of the ones that can really
often catch people out.</v>
<v Beth Wylie>So we really need to be really clear on
this. Many carers,</v>
<v Beth Wylie>many parent carers provide care for their
child long before a formal diagnosis is</v>
<v Beth Wylie>made.
So what defines a parent carer is the</v>
<v Beth Wylie>additional support that they are giving
their child</v>
<v Beth Wylie>due to a physical,
developmental or mental health need,</v>
<v Beth Wylie>not the presence of an official diagnosis.
Just to give you a bit of an</v>
<v Beth Wylie>understanding, some things,
some of the conditions that children</v>
<v Beth Wylie>might have can take until adulthood to be
formally diagnosed because of waiting</v>
<v Beth Wylie>times.
So we need to consider that when we're</v>
<v Beth Wylie>thinking about actually</v>
<v Beth Wylie>how we support these people in the
workplace because they might not be a</v>
<v Beth Wylie>formal reason.
They know their child has autism,</v>
<v Beth Wylie>their child has, you know,
developmental challenges,</v>
<v Beth Wylie>their child has maybe severe allergies.
Certainly I have a friend that wasn't</v>
<v Beth Wylie>diagnosed until they were really quite an
adult with allergies that they suffered</v>
<v Beth Wylie>with all the way throughout school and it
really had a massive impact.</v>
<v Beth Wylie>So we need to kind of think about that
because parent carers find it really</v>
<v Beth Wylie>difficult to identify because you're a
parent and you care.</v>
<v Beth Wylie>What's that tipping point?
And the tipping point is when you are</v>
<v Beth Wylie>providing that additional support because
of those additional needs.</v>
<v Beth Wylie>Unpaid caring only happens when you live
with the person that you support and it</v>
<v Beth Wylie>stops once the person that you care for
moves into a care home or maybe a</v>
<v Beth Wylie>residential setting.</v>
<v Beth Wylie>Yeah, so...</v>
<v Beth Wylie>Really,
really common misconception amongst</v>
<v Beth Wylie>professionals actually that work in,
so actually care home staff.</v>
<v Beth Wylie>So unpaid caring can happen absolutely
anywhere and at any time.</v>
<v Beth Wylie>You don't have to live with the person
you support.</v>
<v Beth Wylie>Catering can take place from a distance.
You know, we learned through COVID,</v>
<v Beth Wylie>there's a lot we can do remotely for
people.</v>
<v Beth Wylie>Or you can live with somebody and also
you can be caring for somebody that is</v>
<v Beth Wylie>getting maybe a care package or is in a
residential care home setting. Yeah.</v>
<v Beth Wylie>So.</v>
<v Beth Wylie>Got some top spots. We've got Lisa, Joyce,
Cara, Jenny and Katrina up there,</v>
<v Beth Wylie>but I'm sure we've got some more. Babby,
thanks. There's no prizes, unfortunately,</v>
<v Beth Wylie>but other than the just pure appreciation
on my part that you completed this.</v>
<v Beth Wylie>Thank you, everybody.</v>
<v Beth Wylie>So just to be really clear,
who is considered as an unpaid carer?</v>
<v Beth Wylie>The Carer Scotland Act defines an unpaid
carer as somebody who provides or intends</v>
<v Beth Wylie>to provide care for somebody else. Okay,
that intention to provide care is really,</v>
<v Beth Wylie>really important in situations where
maybe somebody has had</v>
<v Beth Wylie>maybe a stroke.</v>
<v Beth Wylie>or an aneurysm or a car crash. You know,
if we think about something that's very</v>
<v Beth Wylie>sudden and someone's catapulted into
caring and they may be in hospital,</v>
<v Beth Wylie>they're not caring at the moment,
but they will be when they're discharged.</v>
<v Beth Wylie>Also,
when we're thinking about terminal</v>
<v Beth Wylie>conditions,
so somebody might be diagnosed with</v>
<v Beth Wylie>cancer, they're absolutely okay now.</v>
<v Beth Wylie>but actually they have a life expectancy
of another two years.</v>
<v Beth Wylie>You are not providing care at the moment,
but as that condition deteriorates,</v>
<v Beth Wylie>you will be providing care because you
intend to do so.</v>
<v Beth Wylie>This legislation also covers them.</v>
<v Beth Wylie>Very helpful that the Scottish Government
gave us a really broad definition,</v>
<v Beth Wylie>which is why we have that myth busting
there, because,</v>
<v Beth Wylie>but what does that actually mean in
practice?</v>
<v Beth Wylie>So unpaid carers are anybody that
supports a family member, a partner,</v>
<v Beth Wylie>relative or friend of any age who needs
help to manage a long-term health</v>
<v Beth Wylie>condition,</v>
<v Beth Wylie>because they have maybe a disability,
a physical and mental health condition,</v>
<v Beth Wylie>and it also covers addiction.</v>
<v Beth Wylie>and young carers are defined as somebody
under the age of 18 or 18 and still at</v>
<v Beth Wylie>school.</v>
<v Beth Wylie>So how do we recognise these people at
work?</v>
<v Beth Wylie>They are people that are often maybe
making regular requests for time off or</v>
<v Beth Wylie>flexibility.
They think about those people that are</v>
<v Beth Wylie>making bitty time,
like having bitty half days or full days</v>
<v Beth Wylie>for personal appointments.</v>
<v Beth Wylie>People that are asking for adjustments,
maybe things like has they got</v>
<v Beth Wylie>responsibilities that they need to kind
of say to before they start work or after</v>
<v Beth Wylie>they start work or maybe asking for more
remote working.</v>
<v Beth Wylie>signs of tiredness,
stress or feeling stretched.</v>
<v Beth Wylie>And I know there can be a whole host of
other reasons why people present in that</v>
<v Beth Wylie>way. But if you start to think, well,
actually, they're of that age group,</v>
<v Beth Wylie>they've maybe started talking about mum
not being that well and maybe starting to</v>
<v Beth Wylie>be forgetful,
it starts to build a bit of a picture,</v>
<v Beth Wylie>doesn't it?</v>
<v Beth Wylie>They may be less visible or less engaged
and connected with colleagues,</v>
<v Beth Wylie>so they might not have as much time to
maybe engage with those social activities</v>
<v Beth Wylie>that go around the workplace,
or people that maybe just want to get on</v>
<v Beth Wylie>with the job because they've got that
much to do.</v>
<v Beth Wylie>This is a really good one actually
needing to take personal calls or</v>
<v Beth Wylie>messages during the day.</v>
<v Beth Wylie>people that need to have their phone with
them in case somebody needs to get in</v>
<v Beth Wylie>contact with them.
That is usually a really big indicator</v>
<v Beth Wylie>that somebody has a caring role.</v>
<v Beth Wylie>In casual message,
like mentions of supporting family</v>
<v Beth Wylie>members or friends. So again,
when you start to build a picture of some</v>
<v Beth Wylie>of these things,
it starts to give you a bit of an</v>
<v Beth Wylie>indication that maybe somebody is caring
because carers themselves actually are</v>
<v Beth Wylie>really bad at identifying themselves and
they will often come forward and identify</v>
<v Beth Wylie>at the point at which they can no longer
cope. And actually,</v>
<v Beth Wylie>that's usually at the point at which
they're off sick.</v>
<v Beth Wylie>So this is why that early intervention is
really, really important. So we need to,</v>
<v Beth Wylie>as managers or as colleagues,
kind of just be keeping an eye out for</v>
<v Beth Wylie>these cues and helping people realise
that actually what they're doing is</v>
<v Beth Wylie>unpaid caring.</v>
<v Beth Wylie>I want to go back to Slido because you've
probably,</v>
<v Beth Wylie>if you're anything like me when I first
came for vocal or I first had this</v>
<v Beth Wylie>session,
I started to think about people in my</v>
<v Beth Wylie>periphery in a slightly different way,
my friends and my family actually,</v>
<v Beth Wylie>and my own personal role.</v>
<v Beth Wylie>So you probably start thinking about
people that are carers that you've not</v>
<v Beth Wylie>thought of before.</v>
<v Beth Wylie>Think about what are the impacts?
What are the impacts of balancing work</v>
<v Beth Wylie>and care?</v>
<v Beth Wylie>What have you noticed or what have you
experienced?</v>
<v Beth Wylie>Yeah, they always, I mean,
I've been doing the session now for</v>
<v Beth Wylie>almost three years. I dread,
I think I've trained about in that about</v>
<v Beth Wylie>6000 people. Stress always comes up first.
Always, always comes up first. Absolutely.</v>
<v Beth Wylie>And what's behind that stress?
So thinking about that tiredness,</v>
<v Beth Wylie>that exhaustion,</v>
<v Beth Wylie>being a recluse,
not having the social battery or the</v>
<v Beth Wylie>strength to engage with people,
lack of concentration.</v>
<v Beth Wylie>70% of carers really struggle with lack
of concentration actually and then we</v>
<v Beth Wylie>think about how that impacts work
performance. General wellbeing,</v>
<v Beth Wylie>absolutely, depression.</v>
<v Beth Wylie>Absolutely.
When we're stressed and we're worried and</v>
<v Beth Wylie>we're burnt out,
we can we can cope with these things in</v>
<v Beth Wylie>the short term.</v>
<v Beth Wylie>But actually,
if you're in that kind of stress</v>
<v Beth Wylie>situation for a prolonged period of time,
it can lead on to further more serious</v>
<v Beth Wylie>mental health conditions like depression
and anxiety. Brain fog, absolutely.</v>
<v Beth Wylie>Interesting when we look at that age
group as well.</v>
<v Beth Wylie>And if we think about actually women are
more disproportionately</v>
<v Beth Wylie>affected by care and we think about
actually menopause as well and the</v>
<v Beth Wylie>overlap in some of these challenges as
well. Absolutely. Professional stagnation.</v>
<v Beth Wylie>Yes.
When we look at the business benefits and</v>
<v Beth Wylie>we look at carer attributes in a moment,
yeah,</v>
<v Beth Wylie>you just don't have the energy for that
kind of onward kind of trajectory of your</v>
<v Beth Wylie>career path, do you?
Because you just don't have the strength.</v>
<v Beth Wylie>You don't necessarily think you've got
the commitment there to be able to fully.</v>
<v Beth Wylie>give to that job what is needed.
Absolutely making mistakes. You know,</v>
<v Beth Wylie>carers often talk about being constantly
on, especially working carers,</v>
<v Beth Wylie>because you finish in one job to go home
and start another.</v>
<v Beth Wylie>So that constantly being on,
we are only human.</v>
<v Beth Wylie>and we are not perfect.
Mistakes are going to happen when people</v>
<v Beth Wylie>are experiencing that tiredness, stress,
lack of concentration. Absolutely,</v>
<v Beth Wylie>loneliness is on there. We had,
we did a survey a wee while ago and we</v>
<v Beth Wylie>had a carer describe the loneliness as
being in a prison on a desert island.</v>
<v Beth Wylie>What level of profound isolation must
that individual feel?</v>
<v Beth Wylie>She doesn't feel understood at work.
She doesn't feel understood by her</v>
<v Beth Wylie>friends,
doesn't feel understood by health and</v>
<v Beth Wylie>social care professionals,
and really felt like she was just out</v>
<v Beth Wylie>there on her own.</v>
<v Beth Wylie>Absolutely,
confidence is really effective.</v>
<v Beth Wylie>Think that you're not doing well.
Absolutely.</v>
<v Beth Wylie>And you believe it's not a holiday. Yes,
it's work.</v>
<v Beth Wylie>So actually when we think about how are
people getting breaks,</v>
<v Beth Wylie>Resentment, yes, yes, yes.
You know that real push-pull with a real</v>
<v Beth Wylie>range of emotions, that resentment,
that anger,</v>
<v Beth Wylie>that guilt for feeling that way.</v>
<v Beth Wylie>How do you cope with all of that?
The constant pressure.</v>
<v Beth Wylie>Health issues, yes.
Really interesting because when we sort</v>
<v Beth Wylie>of look at why do we need to support
these people. Carers are really,</v>
<v Beth Wylie>really bad at looking after their own
physical and mental health.</v>
<v Beth Wylie>They will always put the person that they
care for first.</v>
<v Beth Wylie>And then that leads to neglect,
self-neglect.</v>
<v Beth Wylie>So things like health issues.
And actually, again, when we go</v>
<v Beth Wylie>back,
we stop building the bigger picture of</v>
<v Beth Wylie>carers thinking about that age group.</v>
<v Beth Wylie>of carers.
And actually that's at the point where</v>
<v Beth Wylie>things like,
actually you need to be keeping up with</v>
<v Beth Wylie>your smears,
you need to be having those regular</v>
<v Beth Wylie>checks, you know,
you need to be having those wellbeing</v>
<v Beth Wylie>cheques because if we don't,
we don't catch out on things,</v>
<v Beth Wylie>catch up with things kind of early doors.
We actually had a lady coming to us</v>
<v Beth Wylie>recently who's got a,
she has two children with additional</v>
<v Beth Wylie>needs.</v>
<v Beth Wylie>and she had a breast cancer diagnosis.</v>
<v Beth Wylie>She didn't quite meet the threshold for
respite additional support for her two</v>
<v Beth Wylie>children, single mum,
and she couldn't find a way to think to</v>
<v Beth Wylie>be able to manage chemo and looking after
her kid.</v>
<v Beth Wylie>So she was opting not to have cancer
treatment.</v>
<v Beth Wylie>Wow.</v>
<v Beth Wylie>And this is the extent to which, I mean,
and that is just one example of many that</v>
<v Beth Wylie>I could give where health is seriously
impacted by someone's care and role.</v>
<v Beth Wylie>So if that,
even if that is a can't go for health</v>
<v Beth Wylie>treatment,
but also things like injury because of</v>
<v Beth Wylie>moving and handling. You know,
love my partner daily.</v>
<v Beth Wylie>I don't have a ground floor shower.
I don't even have a shower.</v>
<v Beth Wylie>You have to drip in the bath.
He's 6 foot something.</v>
<v Beth Wylie>I am not physically equipped to do that.</v>
<v Beth Wylie>Financial insecurity,
really hot topic at the moment, actually,</v>
<v Beth Wylie>when we think about some really good
stats I'm going to share with you in a</v>
<v Beth Wylie>moment, well,
I find them interesting anyway,</v>
<v Beth Wylie>around the extent of that financial
insecurity and the financial disadvantage.</v>
<v Beth Wylie>Really important when we think about
carers that are giving up work or</v>
<v Beth Wylie>reducing hours.</v>
<v Beth Wylie>because they can't balance the two.</v>
<v Beth Wylie>And then we start to think about the
broader economic, you know,</v>
<v Beth Wylie>that the country's economy when we think
about this really skilled workforce</v>
<v Beth Wylie>leaving work.</v>
<v Beth Wylie>Huge lack of support. Absolutely,
we've been, yeah,</v>
<v Beth Wylie>I think we've pretty much captured
everything. Thank you, everybody.</v>
<v Beth Wylie>So, there is a state of Karen.</v>
<v Beth Wylie>survey that is carried out every year by
an organisation called Carers UK.</v>
<v Beth Wylie>They carry out nationally and then they
break down the results by nation.</v>
<v Beth Wylie>So we get a real flavour of what's going
on in our country.</v>
<v Beth Wylie>And this is what the most recent survey
is telling us about the impacts of caring</v>
<v Beth Wylie>in Scotland.</v>
<v Beth Wylie>71% of carers are reporting poor mental
health due to their caring role.</v>
<v Beth Wylie>I deliver, as part of my role at Vocal,
I deliver a working carer session so</v>
<v Beth Wylie>carers can come along and find out about
their response, you know,</v>
<v Beth Wylie>how to balance working caring,
and they are often off sick,</v>
<v Beth Wylie>and this is the reason why their mental
health, they can't, they just can't go on.</v>
<v Beth Wylie>Something has to give.</v>
<v Beth Wylie>54% of carers' health has declined
because of their caring role.</v>
<v Beth Wylie>Someone popped in there about, you know,
holidays on holidays when you're a carer.</v>
<v Beth Wylie>And what we know is 86% of carers haven't
been able to take a formal break in the</v>
<v Beth Wylie>last year.
And what's horrifying is that over half</v>
<v Beth Wylie>of those haven't even had a single day
off.</v>
<v Beth Wylie>35% of carers are leaving work because
they can't or reducing hours because they</v>
<v Beth Wylie>can't, they can't manage.
They just can't continue to do this.</v>
<v Beth Wylie>And 39% of carers are cutting back on
essentials like heating and food.</v>
<v Beth Wylie>We've definitely got an increase of
carers in the queue for food banks and</v>
<v Beth Wylie>also in fuel poverty. You know,
if you're supporting somebody who has a</v>
<v Beth Wylie>health condition that requires them to be
warm,</v>
<v Beth Wylie>so things like Reynolds are purely just
frailty getting older.</v>
<v Beth Wylie>Um...</v>
<v Beth Wylie>As the electric's expensive right now,
you know,</v>
<v Beth Wylie>and if you think you've got to have that
on all the time, how does that affect?</v>
<v Beth Wylie>And people can't afford that.</v>
<v Beth Wylie>And we also know that 74% of carers are
really worried about their financial</v>
<v Beth Wylie>security.</v>
<v Beth Wylie>So this starts to paint a bit of a
picture about why we need to support</v>
<v Beth Wylie>carers.</v>
<v Beth Wylie>you know, ethically, it's morally,
it's the right thing to do, isn't it?</v>
<v Beth Wylie>It's nice to be nice. But actually,
there are business benefits also.</v>
<v Beth Wylie>So we know that if organisations support
carers,</v>
<v Beth Wylie>it will attract carers to the workforce.
We have a lot of these people around</v>
<v Beth Wylie>communities.
It will attract them and they will stay</v>
<v Beth Wylie>if they are supported.</v>
<v Beth Wylie>If they are visible,
they are seen and they are supported in</v>
<v Beth Wylie>the workplace,
it reduces stress and it reduces sickness</v>
<v Beth Wylie>absence.</v>
<v Beth Wylie>If we,
if we are losing staff at work and on our</v>
<v Beth Wylie>teams because they can't balance work and
caring, it is expensive, you know,</v>
<v Beth Wylie>but if we can support them to stay,
it will reduce recruitment costs and</v>
<v Beth Wylie>training costs.</v>
<v Beth Wylie>It increases resilience and productivity.
You know,</v>
<v Beth Wylie>a lot of the stuff that we talked about
in the last slide was around things like</v>
<v Beth Wylie>making mistakes, poor concentration,
not being able to progress,</v>
<v Beth Wylie>not being able to give work their all.
This is all of the stuff, you know.</v>
<v Beth Wylie>So if we're supporting these people,
it will increase their resilience and</v>
<v Beth Wylie>their productivity at work.</v>
<v Beth Wylie>and in turn will improve service delivery
and produce overall saving costs,</v>
<v Beth Wylie>cost savings even, and most importantly,
it improves people management and staff</v>
<v Beth Wylie>morale.
Work will be a place where people want to</v>
<v Beth Wylie>be.</v>
<v Beth Wylie>Bye.</v>
<v Beth Wylie>But also,
carers bring a lot to the workplace.</v>
<v Beth Wylie>And actually, they've got they've got.</v>
<v Beth Wylie>quite highly valuable skill set that they
can offer you.</v>
<v Beth Wylie>And it's often hidden and we often don't
think about it in this context.</v>
<v Beth Wylie>And actually,
we've recently been doing this slide</v>
<v Beth Wylie>because we've actually got a carer that
supports us that was working in caring</v>
<v Beth Wylie>for a very long time that supports us
within this team.</v>
<v Beth Wylie>And she came up with this and it's a
really nice addition.</v>
<v Beth Wylie>to think about what these people bring to
our workforce.</v>
<v Beth Wylie>They are exceptionally good at time
management and organisation. You know,</v>
<v Beth Wylie>they are doing this every day.
They're balancing work alongside care and</v>
<v Beth Wylie>responsibilities,
and this is constantly requiring planning.</v>
<v Beth Wylie>Prioritising meeting deadlines.</v>
<v Beth Wylie>You know,
they have to develop a high level of</v>
<v Beth Wylie>resilience and adaptability. I mean,
that is a good thing for us as in a team.</v>
<v Beth Wylie>We want this in teams. And, you know,
they're able to respond to change,</v>
<v Beth Wylie>then they can adjust plans quickly,
and not going to stay focused under</v>
<v Beth Wylie>pressure. They've got</v>
<v Beth Wylie>really great practical problem solving
skills. You know,</v>
<v Beth Wylie>how many times at the workforce have you
said, oh, common sense, not that common.</v>
<v Beth Wylie>You know,
but actually carers often have this skill</v>
<v Beth Wylie>because they have to be able to make good
decisions based on limited information</v>
<v Beth Wylie>and find really effective solutions in
real time.</v>
<v Beth Wylie>you know,
linking into what we said there about, oh,</v>
<v Beth Wylie>it's gone off.</v>
<v Beth Wylie>Damn animation, where we are.</v>
<v Beth Wylie>Going back to what we said there about
that high commitment and reliability in</v>
<v Beth Wylie>the business benefits there, you know,
stable employment</v>
<v Beth Wylie>is really important to carers.
So if you're able to provide that,</v>
<v Beth Wylie>they will provide,
they will give you that back tenfold,</v>
<v Beth Wylie>you know,
and they will remain loyal and they will</v>
<v Beth Wylie>remain engaged.</v>
<v Beth Wylie>They often have a high level of emotional
intelligence and teamwork.</v>
<v Beth Wylie>They're really good at supporting each
other. You know,</v>
<v Beth Wylie>they've got a strong sense of empathy,
good communication skills and</v>
<v Beth Wylie>collaboration. You know,
and all of these are qualities that</v>
<v Beth Wylie>really positively impact</v>
<v Beth Wylie>On teams and workplace culture.</v>
<v Beth Wylie>So before we move on to chat about
legislation and the support that's</v>
<v Beth Wylie>available,
I just want to have a quick pause and see</v>
<v Beth Wylie>whether any,
if anybody's got any questions about what</v>
<v Beth Wylie>we've talked about so far.</v>
<v Beth Wylie>Or any clarity?</v>
<v Beth Wylie>Don't worry if you haven't or if you do
pop something in the chat.</v>
<v Beth Wylie>Have a little breather.</v>
<v Beth Wylie>All making sense?</v>
<v Beth Wylie>I'm going to take the silence as... Oh,
brilliant. Thanks, Frances.</v>
<v Beth Wylie>I'm taking the silence as actually I've
answered all your questions and I'm</v>
<v Beth Wylie>totally on it. But if I'm not on it,
please do pop something in because it's a</v>
<v Beth Wylie>topic that I talk about all the time and
there might be something that I haven't</v>
<v Beth Wylie>quite captured that you're not sure about.
So</v>
<v Beth Wylie>It's very nuanced, so please,
please do pop something in the chat if</v>
<v Beth Wylie>you do have any questions.
I'm more than happy to answer them.</v>
<v Beth Wylie>Okay.</v>
<v Beth Wylie>So next up,
what we've got is creating carer</v>
<v Beth Wylie>inclusive workplaces. Okay,
so how do we how do we apply this in</v>
<v Beth Wylie>practice? Okay, so how do we do this?
How do we take this forward?</v>
<v Beth Wylie>So we're going to have a look at what
carer rights there are in the workplace.</v>
<v Beth Wylie>what carer rights in the community,
some practical kind of tips and</v>
<v Beth Wylie>approaches that you can maybe apply to
feel more confident in supporting carers</v>
<v Beth Wylie>at work,
and a range of resources that we found</v>
<v Beth Wylie>are quite helpful to support carers.</v>
<v Beth Wylie>So, up first, carer rights, so...</v>
<v Beth Wylie>First things first, oh,
I clicked on something.</v>
<v Beth Wylie>First things first,
the right to request flexible working.</v>
<v Beth Wylie>So under the Flexible Working Act,
carers have a right to request, well,</v>
<v Beth Wylie>not carers, anybody actually,
but it's interesting how we apply this to</v>
<v Beth Wylie>carers specifically.</v>
<v Beth Wylie>Two requests for flexible working every
year. And this happens,</v>
<v Beth Wylie>you are entitled to make this request
from day one of working with an</v>
<v Beth Wylie>organisation. Why this is important,
flexible working can be really helpful</v>
<v Beth Wylie>for carers.
It's not the be all and end all,</v>
<v Beth Wylie>I will say,
because sometimes flexible working won't</v>
<v Beth Wylie>solves the problem that's, you know,
it can be incredibly useful,</v>
<v Beth Wylie>but not the only support the carers
require.</v>
<v Beth Wylie>So that's why that really good quality
conversation is important.</v>
<v Beth Wylie>But flexible working can be really good
in helping people look at where they work,</v>
<v Beth Wylie>how they work, when they work.</v>
<v Beth Wylie>Okay.</v>
<v Beth Wylie>But it is something that they have a
right to.</v>
<v Beth Wylie>And when people are making requests for
flexible working,</v>
<v Beth Wylie>and we'll touch on this in a moment,
carers are</v>
<v Beth Wylie>are covered by the Carers Act,
not the Carers Act, sorry,</v>
<v Beth Wylie>the Equality Act when they provide care
for somebody that has a disability under</v>
<v Beth Wylie>that legislation.
So they are protected by association.</v>
<v Beth Wylie>So if somebody is making a request for
flexible work and because the payers,</v>
<v Beth Wylie>they need that flexibility because they
support somebody with a disability,</v>
<v Beth Wylie>Then that strengthens that request.</v>
<v Beth Wylie>So you have to think about how you are
looking at that request. Not just saying,</v>
<v Beth Wylie>I like to start later because I really
don't like getting the busy bus or being</v>
<v Beth Wylie>stuck in traffic. You know, actually, no,
I need that time off because I need to go</v>
<v Beth Wylie>and support somebody before I start work
to take medication, get dressed,</v>
<v Beth Wylie>get out of bed, you know,
make sure they're safe and warm for the</v>
<v Beth Wylie>day.</v>
<v Beth Wylie>them because they can't do that for
themselves because they have a disability.</v>
<v Beth Wylie>There's a right to carer's leave.
Around the same time carer's leave was</v>
<v Beth Wylie>introduced and that is 5 days unpaid
leave for people that are providing care</v>
<v Beth Wylie>to another individual.
You can take this in half days or full</v>
<v Beth Wylie>days.
Really helpful for those things like</v>
<v Beth Wylie>appointments.</v>
<v Beth Wylie>that you might have to take the person
that you support to rather than using</v>
<v Beth Wylie>annual leave.
So then people are able to use that</v>
<v Beth Wylie>annual leave to get a break.</v>
<v Beth Wylie>That Equality Act,
protection from discrimination,</v>
<v Beth Wylie>thinking about how we're approaching
people's requests and rights at work.</v>
<v Beth Wylie>In time off for emergencies,
people are entitled to time off for</v>
<v Beth Wylie>emergencies.
Carers are definitely going to encounter</v>
<v Beth Wylie>emergencies and obviously the extent to
which that is happening,</v>
<v Beth Wylie>we need to look at how we support
somebody if that is occurring on a very</v>
<v Beth Wylie>regular basis.
And I've got a resource I want to share</v>
<v Beth Wylie>with you in a moment that</v>
<v Beth Wylie>Could help you support somebody that that
that is going through that.</v>
<v Beth Wylie>Parental leave is something else that
people have a right to. Obviously,</v>
<v Beth Wylie>parents are parents, but actually,
if you have a child,</v>
<v Beth Wylie>if you're supporting a child with a
disability,</v>
<v Beth Wylie>you can use your parental leave slightly
differently.</v>
<v Beth Wylie>You can use it in days rather than week
chunks,</v>
<v Beth Wylie>and a lot of people aren't aware of that.
So actually,</v>
<v Beth Wylie>that can go a long way in supporting you.</v>
<v Beth Wylie>to get a think about how you use those
kind of entitlements that you've got.</v>
<v Beth Wylie>Does that, does that make sense?</v>
<v Beth Wylie>I'm looking at you, Federico, yeah.</v>
<v Beth Wylie>So...</v>
<v Beth Wylie>What we also have,
and what I want to introduce you to,</v>
<v Beth Wylie>I'm not sure whether you're that familiar
with it,</v>
<v Beth Wylie>is the Fair Work framework in Scotland.
So this is a vision that has been set out</v>
<v Beth Wylie>by the Scottish Government that is fair
and inclusive to support everybody. Okay,</v>
<v Beth Wylie>it encourages employers to create
workplaces that are built on kind of five</v>
<v Beth Wylie>principles.</v>
<v Beth Wylie>which kind of promotes dignity,
opportunity and wellbeing within the</v>
<v Beth Wylie>workplace.
And these principles are really important</v>
<v Beth Wylie>for unpaid carers and they can go a long
way in supporting somebody when we think</v>
<v Beth Wylie>about how we are going to support
somebody at work to manage care.</v>
<v Beth Wylie>and working. So first up,
we've got respect. I've got a feeling. Oh,</v>
<v Beth Wylie>no, it's not. Sorry,
I didn't know whether that was going to</v>
<v Beth Wylie>come up. I did put it on animation,
but it's not playing ball. So first up,</v>
<v Beth Wylie>we've got respect.</v>
<v Beth Wylie>So thinking about how we recognise carers
in the workplace. So going back to that,</v>
<v Beth Wylie>you know, earlier on,
thinking about how we identify carers,</v>
<v Beth Wylie>how we value them and the role that they
have to reduce stigma.</v>
<v Beth Wylie>and make them feel understood and
supported at work.</v>
<v Beth Wylie>So thinking about that opportunity,
enabling carers to stay in work and to</v>
<v Beth Wylie>progress.
When we thought about those negative</v>
<v Beth Wylie>effects of work,
and we thought about the disadvantage</v>
<v Beth Wylie>that people have in the workplace.
So thinking about how we enable carers to</v>
<v Beth Wylie>stay in work, not reduce hours,
and progress</v>
<v Beth Wylie>Through kind of, you know, training,
development, and career pathways.</v>
<v Beth Wylie>Security.</v>
<v Beth Wylie>So think about providing that flexibility
and that predictable working pattern that</v>
<v Beth Wylie>gives people that stability so they can
manage both of those things.</v>
<v Beth Wylie>fulfillment,
supporting well-being and balance at work,</v>
<v Beth Wylie>you know,
and sharing that it doesn't negatively</v>
<v Beth Wylie>impact.</v>
<v Beth Wylie>and making sure that these people have
effective voices, you know,</v>
<v Beth Wylie>encourage that open dialogue, be curious,
find out more about their situation so</v>
<v Beth Wylie>they feel more confident speaking up and
involved in decisions that, you know,</v>
<v Beth Wylie>affect their working lives.
So when we start to think about this</v>
<v Beth Wylie>approach and then start blending that
with</v>
<v Beth Wylie>their rights at work, think, well,
actually, how do we, how do we do this?</v>
<v Beth Wylie>How do we do this at Edinburgh University?
So Federico really kindly popped together</v>
<v Beth Wylie>a range of things and resources that are
available within the organisation.</v>
<v Beth Wylie>You will get a copy of these slides after.</v>
<v Beth Wylie>afterwards.
So earlier on there we talked about those</v>
<v Beth Wylie>rights that carers have at work.
You will be able to find out what I</v>
<v Beth Wylie>talked about with the statutory minimum
that people have.</v>
<v Beth Wylie>What I would encourage you to do after
this session is go and cheque out some of</v>
<v Beth Wylie>these resources within your own workplace
and find out what</v>
<v Beth Wylie>this means and how you use this.
So you've got your special leave policy,</v>
<v Beth Wylie>which covers your carer's leave,
your flexible working policy,</v>
<v Beth Wylie>parental leave and your emergency time
off.</v>
<v Beth Wylie>OK,
so that's the kind of right side of</v>
<v Beth Wylie>things.
But then we've also got the that kind of</v>
<v Beth Wylie>that wrap around support for carers.
There's a couple of things that I want to</v>
<v Beth Wylie>kind of direct you towards to cheque out.
So you've got the multi-faith and belief</v>
<v Beth Wylie>chaplaincy for all faiths.
There's a range of support that's</v>
<v Beth Wylie>available there.
You've also got staff counselling.</v>
<v Beth Wylie>and you've got a care for carers page as
well. So go after the session today,</v>
<v Beth Wylie>go and cheque these out and make sure
that you have them at your fingertips,</v>
<v Beth Wylie>whether they apply to you as a carer or
whether you are a line manager or someone</v>
<v Beth Wylie>smoking colleagues that are caring.</v>
<v Beth Wylie>Is there anything else that you want me
to pop in the Federico? Does that cover?</v>
<v Federico Marchiolli>So I think one thing that I've not
mentioned within the policies is the</v>
<v Federico Marchiolli>reasonable adjustments policy,
which is also important.</v>
<v Beth Wylie>Thank you.</v>
<v Federico Marchiolli>Funny because I've worked on that and I
forgot to put it in the list. So thanks,</v>
<v Federico Marchiolli>Sebastian, as well. Thank you.</v>
<v Beth Wylie>Thank you.</v>
<v Beth Wylie>Thank you.</v>
<v Beth Wylie>So, that's when we think,
so we thought about what...</v>
<v Beth Wylie>what we can do in the work around that
kind of flexibility,</v>
<v Beth Wylie>reasonable adjustments,
thinking about that counselling,</v>
<v Beth Wylie>thinking about maybe that peer support
for people,</v>
<v Beth Wylie>thinking about different states,
so how you support carers at work.</v>
<v Beth Wylie>But then also there is limitations to
what you can do because actually the</v>
<v Beth Wylie>things that are affecting their ability
to manage work and caring is without of</v>
<v Beth Wylie>your control.</v>
<v Beth Wylie>Okay,
so it's really important to know what is</v>
<v Beth Wylie>available in the community so you're able
to signpost people to be able to better</v>
<v Beth Wylie>balance that.
So they're getting that full wraparound</v>
<v Beth Wylie>support.
I mentioned the Carers Act earlier on.</v>
<v Beth Wylie>In this act,
not only did it redefine who carers were,</v>
<v Beth Wylie>but it introduced</v>
<v Beth Wylie>a whole range of duties and rights for
carers.</v>
<v Beth Wylie>So to promote consistent support for them
and protecting their right to balancing</v>
<v Beth Wylie>life and caring. Okay,
one of the first things that they</v>
<v Beth Wylie>introduced and the first thing that
changed was the introduction of something</v>
<v Beth Wylie>called the Adult Carer Support Plan and
the Young Carer Statement.</v>
<v Beth Wylie>So Adult Care Support Plan is for anybody
over the age of 18 and it's not an</v>
<v Beth Wylie>education.</v>
<v Beth Wylie>and young carers for anybody under the
age of 18 and 18 are still at school.</v>
<v Beth Wylie>Okay.
And it is a plan that helps you look at</v>
<v Beth Wylie>balancing life.</v>
<v Beth Wylie>Okay,
so it looks at things like how do you</v>
<v Beth Wylie>manage work?</v>
<v Beth Wylie>How is your mental health?
How is your financial security?</v>
<v Beth Wylie>How are your relationships?</v>
<v Beth Wylie>Have you had a break?</v>
<v Beth Wylie>You know, have you,
are you totally isolated and disconnected</v>
<v Beth Wylie>from hobbies and friends,
and actually that's really impacting your</v>
<v Beth Wylie>mental health? You know,
is your house fit for purpose?</v>
<v Beth Wylie>Does it feel safe? You know,
can you move and handle?</v>
<v Beth Wylie>Do you know how to deal with challenging
behaviour? You know, when,</v>
<v Beth Wylie>it's okay when the child that you had was
5 year old, and they were</v>
<v Beth Wylie>having a tantrum,
but actually they've since been diagnosed</v>
<v Beth Wylie>with a range of complex needs and they're
15 and that those tantrums are now really</v>
<v Beth Wylie>quite violent and aggressive and you
don't feel safe in the house.</v>
<v Beth Wylie>It looks at what are your plans for the
future? What support do you need?</v>
<v Beth Wylie>What are you willing to do and what are
you able to do? Okay, so,</v>
<v Beth Wylie>and it helps to look at what support is
available to help you balance life and</v>
<v Beth Wylie>caring and give you choice over this,
which is really, really important.</v>
<v Beth Wylie>What this plan also does is it assesses
the extent to which you are caring and</v>
<v Beth Wylie>the impact of that caring role.</v>
<v Beth Wylie>And when a care enrol reaches a critical
and substantial stage,</v>
<v Beth Wylie>health and social care has a legal duty
to step in and provide support in those</v>
<v Beth Wylie>situations.
So going back to thinking about those</v>
<v Beth Wylie>things that are out with your control,
if the person that's trying to balance</v>
<v Beth Wylie>work and care and needs a care package at
home,</v>
<v Beth Wylie>That's out with your control.
They need Natal Care support plan and</v>
<v Beth Wylie>they need support to make that happen in
the community.</v>
<v Beth Wylie>There's a right to be involved in
services and a right to be involved in</v>
<v Beth Wylie>hospital discharge.
And what that means is if you've got</v>
<v Beth Wylie>social work going out to see your ageing
parents or your child with a disability</v>
<v Beth Wylie>and they are trying to assess what level
of care they need to put in place,</v>
<v Beth Wylie>You need to be involved in those
conversations so you're able to advocate</v>
<v Beth Wylie>about what you are willing and able to do
and they have a legal duty to involve you</v>
<v Beth Wylie>in those discussions.</v>
<v Beth Wylie>It doesn't often happen.
So actually people, you know,</v>
<v Beth Wylie>social work will make assumptions about
what care people can provide without</v>
<v Beth Wylie>realising they're working and caring
because maybe they were at work when the</v>
<v Beth Wylie>assessment was carried out and they
haven't been involved.</v>
<v Beth Wylie>So we can help to advocate for that.
And likewise,</v>
<v Beth Wylie>if somebody's in hospital and they're
going to be discharged,</v>
<v Beth Wylie>and you are going to be providing that
care,</v>
<v Beth Wylie>what are you willing and what are you
able to do?</v>
<v Beth Wylie>So one of the things we often get is
people having difficulties with employees,</v>
<v Beth Wylie>but hospitals don't tell people with much
notice when the person's going to be</v>
<v Beth Wylie>discharged.
They often tell them the night before,</v>
<v Beth Wylie>and that can have a real big impact on
work. So if that is</v>
<v Beth Wylie>the case,
there are specific things that we can</v>
<v Beth Wylie>support and help with around that
particular area. And all carers,</v>
<v Beth Wylie>every carer,
regardless of the extent of caring,</v>
<v Beth Wylie>is entitled to information,
advice and support. Okay,</v>
<v Beth Wylie>and certainly Carer Centres and Vocal
will provide that.</v>
<v Beth Wylie>We also provide the adult care support
plan alongside health and social care</v>
<v Beth Wylie>partnerships.
So if anybody comes to us for support,</v>
<v Beth Wylie>we will have that conversation with them.</v>
<v Beth Wylie>A?</v>
<v Beth Wylie>Any questions about that in particular
because I appreciate that's probably</v>
<v Beth Wylie>quite new for people.</v>
<v Beth Wylie>Oh, Patrick popped something in there.</v>
<v Beth Wylie>Yeah.</v>
<v Beth Wylie>That's interesting, actually. Um, Patrick,
what do you um...</v>
<v Beth Wylie>is that people that are working and maybe
studying or people doing masters,</v>
<v Beth Wylie>if you want to take your mic off and just
give, no, that's really helpful.</v>
<v Patrick Hadoke>Yeah, so it's just like, yeah,
so I do a lot of stuff with postgraduate</v>
<v Patrick Hadoke>students and they often fall between
different stools because you get some who</v>
<v Beth Wylie>Yeah, yeah.</v>
<v Patrick Hadoke>are on a complete stipend,
you get some who are members of staff but</v>
<v Patrick Hadoke>are on a salary,
you get some who are members of staff but</v>
<v Patrick Hadoke>are on a stipend,</v>
<v Patrick Hadoke>and you get some who do some tutoring,
so they also have a staff contract</v>
<v Patrick Hadoke>because of the tutoring and demonstrating.
And it was really the bit on the slide</v>
<v Beth Wylie>Yeah.</v>
<v Patrick Hadoke>that came up about the carer's leave.
And I, it just occurred to me,</v>
<v Patrick Hadoke>I don't know if postgraduate students are
allowed the carer's leave as a specific</v>
<v Patrick Hadoke>thing.</v>
<v Patrick Hadoke>I mean,
we do allow them to take interruptions,</v>
<v Patrick Hadoke>but I've never really seen anybody say,
I need carer's leave.</v>
<v Beth Wylie>A lot of people aren't aware of it,
Patrick, actually.</v>
<v Beth Wylie>A lot of people aren't aware of it.
And I think it probably may well be</v>
<v Beth Wylie>depending on their situation about
whether or not they're paid employers and</v>
<v Beth Wylie>not paid employees,
would be a blend of looking at what,</v>
<v Beth Wylie>where the workplace, right,
and this is where I'm sure Federico's</v>
<v Beth Wylie>team will come in and support you with
this.</v>
<v Beth Wylie>But also one of the really good resources
that you do have at Edinburgh University</v>
<v Beth Wylie>is a widening and participation team,
and they've got dedicated support for</v>
<v Beth Wylie>carers in education, regardless of age.</v>
<v Beth Wylie>I actually didn't pop that on the slide,
but I'll make a note of Federico,</v>
<v Beth Wylie>are you able to pop that in the chat?
Because I think that's something if</v>
<v Beth Wylie>you're not aware of that, Patrick,
there could be also a really good service</v>
<v Beth Wylie>to connect with in-house.</v>
<v Patrick Hadoke>Yeah, I've spoken to them before.
They're very helpful. They are quite,</v>
<v Patrick Hadoke>I mean,
they're quite thinly stretched because</v>
<v Beth Wylie>Yeah, you're a law joke.</v>
<v Patrick Hadoke>there's quite a lot of demand on the
service.</v>
<v Patrick Hadoke>One of the challenges I've found slightly
tangentially to this point is that the</v>
<v Patrick Hadoke>issue that we find with people who are
working as carers, sorry,</v>
<v Patrick Hadoke>working and have caring responsibilities
that are unpaid,</v>
<v Patrick Hadoke>is that they're usually very, as you said,
very organised,</v>
<v Patrick Hadoke>very self-motivated and very good at
identifying what resources are available</v>
<v Patrick Hadoke>to support them.
The challenges we often face with the</v>
<v Patrick Hadoke>students that I work with in this
situation is that they come asking for</v>
<v Patrick Hadoke>extra help and it's identifying what
extra help there is that they haven't</v>
<v Beth Wylie>Watt.</v>
<v Patrick Hadoke>already identified themselves.</v>
<v Beth Wylie>Yeah,
and I think it's that what can you do,</v>
<v Beth Wylie>but what else needs to be done?
And this is where things like the carer</v>
<v Beth Wylie>services can come in and provide
additional support to that.</v>
<v Beth Wylie>And there's a range of services that can
kind of complement that, Patrick,</v>
<v Beth Wylie>because there's only so much you can do,
and so much within your gift.</v>
<v Patrick Hadoke>Absolutely, yes.</v>
<v Beth Wylie>You know,
it's making sure that you're aware of,</v>
<v Beth Wylie>you know,
your exhausting all of those options that</v>
<v Beth Wylie>you do have, but actually...</v>
<v Beth Wylie>what other support is needed.
And like I say,</v>
<v Beth Wylie>that may well be above and beyond what
you're able to provide. And that's where,</v>
<v Beth Wylie>so things like the adult carer support
plan,</v>
<v Beth Wylie>especially when thinking about post-grad,
part of that discussion is education.</v>
<v Beth Wylie>So, it talks about employment,
but it also talks about education,</v>
<v Beth Wylie>depending on the stage that which people
are at.</v>
<v Patrick Hadoke>Yeah, I think that's right. I think.</v>
<v Beth Wylie>in about what additional supports needed.</v>
<v Patrick Hadoke>I think the other thing for us is,
and something you've emphasised a lot</v>
<v Patrick Hadoke>already,
is recognition actually that they're</v>
<v Beth Wylie>Yes.</v>
<v Patrick Hadoke>carers.
And I think it is just that recognition</v>
<v Patrick Hadoke>and providing a little bit of extra space
and support,</v>
<v Beth Wylie>Yeah.</v>
<v Patrick Hadoke>even if it's not anything more material
than that.</v>
<v Patrick Hadoke>It just has a big impact on people
knowing that they're supported.</v>
<v Beth Wylie>It does.</v>
<v Beth Wylie>It absolutely does. Never ever,
I will say,</v>
<v Beth Wylie>never ever underestimate the value of
just holding that space for carers.</v>
<v Beth Wylie>And because they often feel very isolated
and very unseen,</v>
<v Beth Wylie>just that that conversation can be
incredibly powerful in its own right.</v>
<v Beth Wylie>And knowing that they feel support and
they've got somebody to talk to.</v>
<v Beth Wylie>Absolutely.</v>
<v Beth Wylie>I'm going to move on because I've got a
few more bits to kind of chat through,</v>
<v Beth Wylie>which I think might be helpful,
just kind of leading on from some of the</v>
<v Beth Wylie>stuff that Patrick's just mentioned there.</v>
<v Beth Wylie>So how do we create a carer inclusive
workplace? So we normalise caring.</v>
<v Beth Wylie>It is normal.
We've looked at the stats earlier on.</v>
<v Beth Wylie>Caring is very normal.
It's going to affect most of us.</v>
<v Beth Wylie>Lead with empathy.</v>
<v Beth Wylie>Ignore your policies.</v>
<v Beth Wylie>Protect confidentiality,
keep the conversations open and going.</v>
<v Beth Wylie>It's not one and done.
It needs to be a continuous conversation.</v>
<v Beth Wylie>And tailor support to individual needs.
Everyone's situation is different.</v>
<v Beth Wylie>You know,
there's a difference between equality and</v>
<v Beth Wylie>equity and that can be quite challenging
for us to balance that because why are we</v>
<v Beth Wylie>treating that person different to that
person when we're treating that person</v>
<v Beth Wylie>differently because they have different
needs.</v>
<v Beth Wylie>and we need to have confidence with that.</v>
<v Beth Wylie>Some of the other things that you might
might be quite helpful is that the</v>
<v Beth Wylie>legislation I mentioned that that Carers
Act,</v>
<v Beth Wylie>they've actually got a couple of
documents and a couple of short</v>
<v Beth Wylie>information sheets that might be quite
helpful for you to have at your</v>
<v Beth Wylie>fingertips to provide to people that you
may be starting to identify as carers or</v>
<v Beth Wylie>have identified and maybe help them with
that identification process.</v>
<v Beth Wylie>So the carers charter is a document that
was created by Scottish Government,</v>
<v Beth Wylie>which goes through who is a carer,
what is an adult carer support plan or a</v>
<v Beth Wylie>young carer statement,
what support I'm entitled to,</v>
<v Beth Wylie>what involvement I can expect in
information about hospital discharge.</v>
<v Beth Wylie>It's quite a wordy document,
although it is definitely a shorter</v>
<v Beth Wylie>version of the full legislation.</v>
<v Beth Wylie>So Scottish Government later last year
released a really nice document called A</v>
<v Beth Wylie>Helpline Hand for Carers and it talks
about working, it talks about care,</v>
<v Beth Wylie>it talks about how to do that.
It's 2 pages,</v>
<v Beth Wylie>it's visually really pleasing.
I would really encourage you to go and</v>
<v Beth Wylie>cheque those out.</v>
<v Beth Wylie>There's also,
if you wanted something a little bit</v>
<v Beth Wylie>meatier,
Carers UK have got a really great range</v>
<v Beth Wylie>of guides.
You'll notice some of this language,</v>
<v Beth Wylie>we're not talking about carers,
we're talking about, oh,</v>
<v Beth Wylie>you're looking after somebody.
People tend to not like that term carer.</v>
<v Beth Wylie>So there's a looking after somebody guide.</v>
<v Beth Wylie>that is provided by nation.
So you'll see there's one for England,</v>
<v Beth Wylie>Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland,
depending on where you are caring for</v>
<v Beth Wylie>somebody.
And they are really quite fleshy.</v>
<v Beth Wylie>So please do go and cheque them out.
They can be a really good resource for</v>
<v Beth Wylie>you to have at your fingertips to share
with people.</v>
<v Beth Wylie>And thinking about what I said earlier
around emergencies,</v>
<v Beth Wylie>Scottish Government come back in with
Enable,</v>
<v Beth Wylie>developed a really good planning toolkit
which could help people prepare for</v>
<v Beth Wylie>emergencies and know what needs to do if
they're not able to be around. At Vocal,</v>
<v Beth Wylie>we can provide this,
we can do this with people.</v>
<v Beth Wylie>But it's also a document that you can
print out and give to people and they can</v>
<v Beth Wylie>complete it themselves if they don't want
to come for support.</v>
<v Beth Wylie>But it helps to look at actually what
happens if you're not available. You know,</v>
<v Beth Wylie>think about those people that maybe do
have to take a lot of time off because</v>
<v Beth Wylie>things happen suddenly.</v>
<v Beth Wylie>At Vocal,
we have a really wide range of services</v>
<v Beth Wylie>that can support people. Okay,
so this gives you a bit of a flavour</v>
<v Beth Wylie>about the type of support that people can
access as carers.</v>
<v Beth Wylie>So under the kind of Carers Act guidance,
we provide information and advice on</v>
<v Beth Wylie>behalf of Edinburgh Council and Mid
Lothian Council.</v>
<v Beth Wylie>And we have a range of one-to-one
caseworkers as well.</v>
<v Beth Wylie>So we have specialist caseworkers that
can support somebody.</v>
<v Beth Wylie>who has a child with a disability.
So we've got parent carer caseworkers.</v>
<v Beth Wylie>We have mental health caseworkers.
We've got a family support drug and</v>
<v Beth Wylie>alcohol service and dedicated caseworkers.
And we have caseworkers,</v>
<v Beth Wylie>I'm saying that word a lot,
in every locality across Edinburgh.</v>
<v Beth Wylie>We do do that adult care support plan.</v>
<v Beth Wylie>Everybody gets offered that and we have a
really robust counselling service.</v>
<v Beth Wylie>So we have roughly about 26 counsellors
at any given time and people can get</v>
<v Beth Wylie>access to up to 12 sessions for free,
phone, Zoom and in person,</v>
<v Beth Wylie>daytime and night time.</v>
<v Beth Wylie>We have,
if people have care packages that they're</v>
<v Beth Wylie>struggling to manage,
the councils are really good at giving</v>
<v Beth Wylie>people, so yeah,
you can have a care package for the</v>
<v Beth Wylie>person that you care for.
Here's loads of money,</v>
<v Beth Wylie>do you want to go and spend it on
personal assistance?</v>
<v Beth Wylie>And nobody has a clue how to do that.
So we've got a self-directed carer</v>
<v Beth Wylie>support service,
self-directed support carer support</v>
<v Beth Wylie>service.</v>
<v Beth Wylie>that can help people spend that money and
know how to do that confidently.</v>
<v Beth Wylie>We do benefit cheques for carers and the
person that they care for,</v>
<v Beth Wylie>in general income maximisation actually,
to make sure that people are not giving</v>
<v Beth Wylie>up work and being at a financial
disadvantage.</v>
<v Beth Wylie>And we also have a safe and warm service
around fuel poverty.</v>
<v Beth Wylie>In making sure that people's houses are
safe and warm.</v>
<v Beth Wylie>We have a range of legal surgeries around
power of attorney and long term care</v>
<v Beth Wylie>planning.
People worry a lot about the future,</v>
<v Beth Wylie>so this is something that can be really,
really helpful.</v>
<v Beth Wylie>And we have a range of peer support and
mentoring.</v>
<v Beth Wylie>Carers love to get together and talk and
feel heard and understood.</v>
<v Beth Wylie>We offer a wide range of training,
online and in person for carers,</v>
<v Beth Wylie>and it's a real blend of training.
So we have the type of training that</v>
<v Beth Wylie>helps somebody be able to understand how
to support somebody with neurodiversity,</v>
<v Beth Wylie>to be able to understand what care home
options are,</v>
<v Beth Wylie>understand how to manage medication and a
move and handle.</v>
<v Beth Wylie>but all the way through to wellbeing
activities like cold water swimming,</v>
<v Beth Wylie>mushroom foraging, walks and mindfulness.
So there's a real nice blend.</v>
<v Beth Wylie>And we also have a secondhand mobility
store,</v>
<v Beth Wylie>so people can purchase things like
wheelchairs, rollators, walking aids,</v>
<v Beth Wylie>bath aids, and things like that.</v>
<v Beth Wylie>But one of the really lovely things that
we're able to offer is a break.</v>
<v Beth Wylie>So Scottish Government have recently
legalised the right for a break for</v>
<v Beth Wylie>carers.
So when we think about how are people</v>
<v Beth Wylie>actually getting a break when they're
taking their time off from work?</v>
<v Beth Wylie>We have to look at how we support people
to get a break. So at Vocal,</v>
<v Beth Wylie>we've got two holiday homes in Seaton
Sands and we've also got a lovely cottage</v>
<v Beth Wylie>up in Pitlochry.
We have a grant that we can award carers</v>
<v Beth Wylie>to plan their own break in the UK,
but taking time out in that way isn't</v>
<v Beth Wylie>often practical for carers. So we</v>
<v Beth Wylie>We also have things like complementary
therapies, massages, afternoon tea,</v>
<v Beth Wylie>spa days, gym memberships,
day passes like National Trust membership</v>
<v Beth Wylie>cards. So we can use this fund really,
really flexible to improve wellbeing.</v>
<v Beth Wylie>At Vocal, we do have a website that has,
you can make referrals on there for</v>
<v Beth Wylie>yourself or for people that support or
you can share this information.</v>
<v Beth Wylie>We have a free phone telephone number.
We accept drop-ins every day and we have</v>
<v Beth Wylie>an inquiries e-mail.</v>
<v Beth Wylie>In Edinburgh,
there's also a wide range of other</v>
<v Beth Wylie>support services.
So thinking about the diversity of caring.</v>
<v Beth Wylie>So we have things like MICOP.
MICOP provides support for carers from</v>
<v Beth Wylie>BME communities and travelling
communities, Milan,</v>
<v Beth Wylie>older Asian communities,
LGBT health and wellbeing.</v>
<v Beth Wylie>thinking about young carers as well in
advocacy.</v>
<v Beth Wylie>PASDA provides additional support around
autism. We all work really,</v>
<v Beth Wylie>really closely to meet those needs,
but we do have a really wide range of</v>
<v Beth Wylie>services in Edinburgh.</v>
<v Beth Wylie>But those carers,
for those of you that are maybe out with</v>
<v Beth Wylie>Edinburgh and Midlothian,
there's a carer centre in at least one in</v>
<v Beth Wylie>every single council area across the UK.</v>
<v Beth Wylie>So this is a national directory.
You put in your postcode and it will tell</v>
<v Beth Wylie>you what is available in your local area.</v>
<v Beth Wylie>Federico mentioned that people come from
different.</v>
<v Beth Wylie>schools within Edinburgh University.
So I just want to kind of just quickly</v>
<v Beth Wylie>mention that we do provide training and
we do 2 sessions.</v>
<v Beth Wylie>So we do a carer awareness session,
which is the session you were all along</v>
<v Beth Wylie>today too.
But we also offer a caring conversation</v>
<v Beth Wylie>session, which looks at how to have those</v>
<v Beth Wylie>caring conversations,
kind of more enhanced tips on creating</v>
<v Beth Wylie>carer friendly work environment and more
practical tips around those conversations.</v>
<v Beth Wylie>Okay,
if you are interested in any of that,</v>
<v Beth Wylie>the details are on there.</v>
<v Beth Wylie>And that is it, everybody!</v>
<v Beth Wylie>Any questions?</v>
<v Beth Wylie>I'm going to stop sharing but I am going
to pop a quick evaluation in the chat if</v>
<v Beth Wylie>people don't mind.</v>
<v Beth Wylie>Any questions?</v>