North Argyll Carers Centre

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North Argyll Carers Centre update 
We continue to see an increase in demand for our services. We have 678 unpaid carers
actively receiving support from us. Since the last meeting we have registered 29 new adult
carers and 15 new young carers. We received 61 referrals 44 of which were for new
registrations and 17 for Carer Support Plan reviews to help secure respite for the unpaid carer. 
For the first time since the pandemic began we held a Christmas Lunch for carers and those
they care for at the Royal Hotel in Oban. It was lovely to welcome people back to the event,
which saw 77 attending. We were blown away by the generosity of local businesses in
donating amazing prizes for our raffle, particularly in view of the difficult times we still find
ourselves in. Donors included Sea Kayak Oban, Oban Bay Hotel, Buildbase, Scottish Island
Jewellery, Matrix, The Pierhouse Hotel, BID4OBAN, S.D Carpet and Upholstery Cleaning, CA
Valeting and Detailing, Oban Phoenix Cinema, Trinity Hairdressing and Beauty, Chalmers of
Oban, The Perle Hotel and Cmac Beauty. We were grateful too to the Royal Hotel who created
a lovely atmosphere for the carers, made us feel really welcome and provided us with an
excellent Christmas dinner.
Thanks to our funders, primarily Shared Care Scotland, Children in Need, CalMac and the
HSCP, we have a varied program of peer support and short breaks activities for carers
planned for 2023. Our weekly after school groups, day trips and residentials for young carers
continue, with a sleepover at Dynamic Earth and a residential to the Outward Bound Trust’s
centre at Loch Eil coming up in the next few months. We have a blend of in person and online
activities and peer support groups available to adult carers too. Our weekly Blether Group,
Mindful Walking Group and Coffee Morning sessions continue to prove very popular, as does
our monthly session for parent carers and their children at the Bridge Café’s GoBananas soft
play centre. We also have activities running out in community venues with regular sessions
held in Oban, Kilmelford, Tobermory and, starting soon, on Seil. Our website and Facebook
pages have details of our regular groups and upcoming events and activities.
The cost of living crisis and rising fuel costs are having a significant impact on unpaid carers,
whose cost of living is already significantly higher than that of non-carer families. This coupled
with the recruitment difficulties in Social Care are adding to the pressure carers face. We
secured some additional funding from the HSCP to support a pilot which will enable us to put
in place regular home-help type preventative supports for carers, to reduce the risk of them
reaching crisis point. We have been compiling a list of local providers who may be able to
help. The aim is to provide support with regular household tasks which will free up carers’ time
to focus on things that will improve their mental and physical wellbeing. Examples might
include laundry, gardening, ironing and cleaning. For carers in very intensive caring roles, this
type of regular short break can be more accessible and practical than the traditional respite
model of a break away from home. We feel it will provide a valuable addition to the current
respite options open to unpaid carers. We would be keen to hear from anyone who might be
interested in being included on our list. We are also looking for local businesses who might be
willing to help carers out with one-off property maintenance and repairs.