Many carers are responsible for the diet of the person they look after. Whether it's cooking their meals or helping them to eat, providing the right food is a natural role for carers, but one which can cause concern. Eating for recovery Providing the body with food and water is an essential part of life and important for good health.  But a healthy balanced diet isn’t just important for preventing illness.  Providing the right nutrition…

Over the last 18 months the Government has begun the process of making the biggest changes to the working-age benefits system for decades. This is bringing a great deal of uncertainty and fear for families affected by illness and disability, who depend on benefits for their everyday living costs. Chief amongst the worries are the changes to Disability Living Allowance. The Government plans to replace Disability Living Allowance (DLA) with a new Personal Independence Payment…

Updated March 2013 How carers will be affected by planned changes to benefits The Government is in the process of making the biggest changes to the benefits system for decades. This is bringing a great deal of uncertainty and fear for families affected by illness and disability who depend on benefits for their everyday living costs. To try and explain, in plain English, what these changes will mean for carers and their families, Carers UK…

Technology is a major part of most people’s lives. But do you ever think about what difference it makes to your caring role? From saving time to reducing isolation to giving you more peace of mind, these ten uses of technology could make your life easier and help reduce some of the stress that comes from your caring role. 1. Get your shopping done Avoid queues, wonky-wheeled trolleys and carrying heavy bags simply by sitting…

Battling is something that all carers have to get used to: whether it is filling out endless forms, convincing professionals to take you seriously, or arguing over help for you and the person you care for. But it’s not all bad news. Carers have a small but growing set of legal rights, hard won by organisations like Carers UK. We know that many carers do not know about these rights or how to get help…

None of us know what life has in store and sometimes things happen that turn life upside down. When something unexpected happens, most people put their normal lives on hold while they deal with the aftermath. However, for many carers, life cannot simply be put on hold so it’s important to be as prepared as possible should something go wrong. It might seem depressing to be thinking about bad things happening but actually it’s a…

Caring means something different for everyone – but one thing that carers tell us all the time is that they cannot keep going without a break. Caring for somebody can be a full time job – so breaks are vital to your own well being and quality of life. Having a break can help you cope with caring and give you time to recharge your batteries. It also means that the person you look after…

As we get older, fading sight can come to be a real issue, with one in five of those over 70 suffering from sight loss, rising to half of those over 90. A high proportion of the UK’s carers are looking after an elderly person. If that person has sight loss this will be something that can add additional problems to the day to day care. What is the impact of sight loss?  If the person…