Unpaid carers in Inverclyde got the opportunity to provide feedback to service providers on issues such as mental health, access to services and community involvement at a workshop in Greenock.

Carers Gateway recently moved into the Inverclyde area and operate in partnership with Inverclyde Health & Social Care. They teamed up with CVS Inverclyde to run these sessions.

Partnership facilitator for CVS, Vicki Cloney said: “It was an amazing conversation, we had someone from the care centre and someone from Carers Gateway. The conversation was about what they need, what they want, what are the positives and negatives around being a carer. It was fantastic.”

The care system in Inverclyde has faced difficult obstacles this year with outrage over funding and contract issues earlier this year that seen the Inverclyde Carers’ Centre lose 70 percent of it’s funding. This much-loved hub on Cathcart Street, Greenock lost out on funding to investment from Glasgow after spending two decades supporting the people of Inverclyde who look after their loved ones.

Improvement around the health & wellbeing sector is a vital aim of the CVS with surveys and reports conducted throughout the year. Drop in sessions at local cafes and other venues have also been a method used to hear feedback on how the carers of Inverclyde.

Vicki Cloney said: “What we are hoping to get from yesterday’s workshop and all of the engagement that we are doing. It is really about understanding what are the priorities of the people of Inverclyde. And learn what people’s true experience of health & wellbeing is in Inverclyde”

“We give back information to the Health & Social Care partnership and back to the NHS and hopefully it will then influence future service provision in Inverclyde.”

Workshops such as this one can have an impact, especially for people in roles as challenging as caring for others. Caroline, a carer in Inverclyde, said: “I’ve been a carer for about 20 years, even maybe a little bit longer. These workshops can be really important to me and other people who care as well. Just like any other job, sometimes you need a place to raise issues and vent to other people. And they help you learn a little bit more as well.”

To find out more about about the workshop and CVS Inverclyde, visit https://www.cvsinverclyde.org.uk/

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