General Chat

are you registered as a carer with your local doctors surgery,if not please tell them.i am a carer and im registered.just after i was registered i had a call from someone who asked me some questions and did an assesment and i was given money £200 to spend on me as a thank you.each year they contact you and assess again,you can fill in a form or do it over the phone,i opted phone,i was asked what i would like to spend the money on,you have to send receipts,its tax free.i said this year music and shoes,
you can use it for breaks away anything as long as you tell them,they are very kind and helpful,my local contact is Lincolnshire based.so give it a go it makes you feel valued.
hope this helps.
best wishes wendy

Wendy,

Is this a government funded payment, or maybe a local charity based one? I have never heard of it before, but then I am not specifically 'registered' as carer for an elderly relative I care for.

Elisabeth

Don't know if I am registered but I do receive the carers allowance.
Our local carers group looks after us very well and have negotiated a taxi service.We are going for the Christmas dinner next month but I have never heard of this little bonus.

this is a government payment done through Direct Payment system,any carer can get it ,if you are caring for anyone you are a Carer and entitled to it.so please register with your doctors surgery.another added bonus of registering with your surgery as a carer is you get appointments quicker and lots of other help.last year i slipped in the garden and broke my arm,well by the time i had got to the hospital i was met with a team of helpers asking what help i would need at home,talk about quick!!.so all you carers out there get ringing.

best wishes wendy

That's encouraging Wendy, hope the payments don't suffer in the cuts.

Someone in our area started an online group for Carers, can't remember what it's called but anyone can go and ask advice or just chat with others, I will try and find the site and let you know, as so many carers are housebound out of needing to stay with their loved one, and welcome the contact with others.

Lizx

I'm a carer to my disabled sister, I spend approx 6 to 10 hours a week caring for her. I also work 25 hours a week so therefore do not qualify for a carers allowance. It seems so unfair to think that I am saving the government a lot of money yet am not entitled to a penny.

Look,we are just carers,it doesn't matter about being fair to us.Full sprescription charges,no concessions anywhere that I can think of.Please,somebody correct me on that one.
It was not until my partner took a full-time job (we had both worked freelance for years) and lost it that we began to see what you could get. He was able to sign on while looking and is given expenses to travel to job interviews, which we have done without thinking for years. Vouchers for glasses,free prescriptions, I am even going to look into housing benefit.
He has started building up work again so has to go and sign with great sheafs of paper and is probably earning as much as we have been down to in slack times before but still we get benefit.We have hit paydirt!