‘Try not to leave us behind’

Following his late wife Tina’s diagnosis of dementia in 2003, Jim Radburn ‘worked tirelessly’ to lobby, gain funding and set up a self-help group run by and for carers. Carers in Hucknall  was started by Jim.  The group aims to offer support to local carers and the people they care for in Hucknall, Nottinghamshire and surrounding areas. Jim has been and still is, an active campaigner for carers support over the years and was integral in the development and implementation of our Trust Working Age Dementia Service

Jim shares his thoughts from a new perspective during the Coronavirus pandemic.

This year more than ever we need to support carers. Because of lockdown carers feel more alone than ever. Please help; services can be harder to access and some carers have no help at all which makes it 24/7 on their own.  Please support unpaid carers if only to check if they are ok. It can mean a lot.

I run Carers in Hucknall and usually take things into the group for those who are not on the Internet. We planned to run a stand at our local Tesco’s for Carers Week but due to Coronavirus we were unable to do this or run the Carers in Hucknall group and Carers Week events where we hand out information for carers and families. 

I would like to take this time after Carers Week to have my say about some carers being left behind because of Coronavirus. There has been lots of things happening online such as ‘Zoom’ meetings but lots of carers like myself cannot do online meetings and some carers do not know about it. Therefore, there are carers who do not know what services are still out there or even running during lockdown. 

I know it is hard at this moment in time and I know lots of you in your professional roles are working so hard but please remember, not all of us are as up to date with technology as some of you. 

So please try not to leave us behind  

Jim Radburn  Carers in Hucknall

Carers in Hucknall is a self help group run by and for carers and the people they care for in Hucknall and surrounding areas. Support, understanding and a warm welcome (plus a cuppa) is guaranteed, whether you are a carer have a disability or you just need the company.