The Mapping, Education & Carer Service (MECS) within ABUHB is a newly formed team consisting of dementia coordinators from various professional backgrounds, based within Gwent. One of the main aims of the service is to promote and facilitate carers’ education courses tailored to each area, for those caring for people living with dementia.
Through our professional roles, we have had first-hand experience of the extremely difficult situations that carers have dealt with since the outbreak of Covid-19. We appreciate how tremendously difficult the lack of resources and over-stretching of services has been for carers. We know that carers have isolated themselves to protect their loved ones, with no regular respite, routine or social activities available for many months. We are aware that the caring role has been exacerbated by the pandemic many times over, with a higher risk of carer burnout.
We will be offering a 6-week educational programme for carers in each borough, with input from specialists such as Consultant Psychiatrists, Memory Nurses, Occupational Therapists, Social Workers, Dieticians and others. As well as charitable organisations including the Carers Trust and Alzheimer’s Society.
We recognise that each carer and their caring role is unique, and we want them to know they are not alone. We hope to offer a safe space to meet, share their experiences and build relationships. We hope that our input will offer more insight into their caring roles and the support available to them and their loved ones. We hope that our education courses will provide the carers with the confidence, knowledge and ability to contact appropriate services when required.
We commit to offering a high quality, meaningful and friendly service for carers, and pay tribute to the outstanding commitment they make on a daily basis.
