Annual meeting of the Royal College of
Psychiatrists
6th – 9th July, Harrogate International Conference
Centre
Spotting the mental stress experienced by full-time carers is
being made easier by a partnership forged between the Royal College
of Psychiatrists and the Princess Royal Trust for Carers.
Speaking to delegates this afternoon, the Princess Royal said
this partnership, which was launched in January, had enormous
potential for carers wherever they were. Carers is the theme of
this year's conference. "Where the joined-up thinking is a bit of a
challenge in most areas, it is an even greater challenge for carers
and practitioners in the mental health field," said the Princess
Royal. "The support of the college and the psychiatrists you are
training in this issue holds out tremendous potential for the
future to overcome many of those difficulties."
The plight of full-time carers often only became apparent when
carers fell ill and had to be admitted to hospital, said the
Princess Royal. It might be the first time that doctors realised
that these patients were themselves looking after someone who
needed full-time care. However, while hospitalisation was evidence
of physical stress, mental stress was harder to spot "The mental
stress of carers has been more difficult to identify and to cater
for. That adds to the importance of this relationship with the
college,"; she said. The Princess Royal told delegates that when
she attended carer seminars around the country, she noticed that no
two carers faced the same issues" they all had individual problems.
"Trying to come up with an overall solution to individual carers is
almost impossible, because people respond differently," she
said.
She talked about the Trust's "toolkit" of materials a
collection of information leaflets on issues relating to carers and
their interaction with mental health services. She said it was
important to be flexible in catering for individual carers' needs,
whether it was tailoring respite care for one night a week, or a
fortnight a year or arranging for the carer, rather than the person
they were caring for, to go away for a break. "These are individual
packages that make a real difference, said the Princess
Royal.
She said most carers wanted the person they were caring for to
remain at home, but they could only manage this if they had a
professional network to support them. "We are always learning how
better to respond to those needs of carers that will improve the
likelihood of their being able to continue for longer in their own
homes and being able to care for that individual at home, she said.
"We believe that that is the right approach and that on the whole
people prefer to stay in places that they know for as long as
possible."
The Princess concluded by thanking the college for its active
support and for agreeing to make the issues faced by carers a
mandatory part of the training of psychiatrists.
For further information, please contact Liz Fox or Deborah
Hart in the Communications Department.
Telephone: 020 7235 2351 Extensions. 6298 or 6127