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01761 431388

Bath Carers Help Each Other

Bath-based carers Anne Wright, Anna Ferguson, Layla Miah, Julie Smyth and Marjory Rayner. 

A new group offering help and support for carers has been launched by the Carers’ Centre Bath and North East Somerset. The Bath Carers’ Peer Support Group meets every month in the city centre and is led by volunteer Anna Ferguson, who cares for her parents.

“Carers can experience many different caring situations,” explained Anna. “Looking after a new baby with a disability, caring for an elderly parent or

supporting a teenager with a mental health problem. Being a carer often leads to loneliness, isolation and frustration, and our Support Group aims to give local carers the opportunity to talk about the issues they face, and give mutual help and understanding. Carers who would like to join the group can contact the Carers’ Centre on 01761 431388.”

Anne Wright, who cares for her husband, David, has joined the group. She said: “It’s a great idea to bring us all together and it’s so good to meet people who really understand what being a carer is like. My husband had a stroke ten years ago and is now an epileptic. The support group means I can offload some of my problems with people who know how trapped I feel.”

“My mother is now 95,” said Julie Smyth. “Although she just about lives independently, I care for her and feel responsible for her. Without me she cannot even leave the house, her health is not good and I worry a lot about her. The Support Group gets me out meeting new people who also look after someone. We give each other a lot of support.”

There are over 16,000 carers in Bath and North East Somerset alone. They can often suffer loneliness and ill health due to their caring role and need support and understanding to maintain their own physical and mental health and wellbeing. The Carers’ Centre Bath and North East Somerset is a registered charity and has a range of free services for carers, from activities and breaks away from caring to counselling, advice and emotional support. It also involves carers in helping to influence the development of services in the area.