Huge boost for Hartlepool's army of unsung hero carers - and their loved ones

Hartlepool has an army of 12,000 carers who look after everyone from mums and dads to sons and daughters.

But sometimes the person they care for has to go into hospital or into a home and it can be worrying for all.

That’s where the Hartlepool Carers group is stepping in to start recruitment in January to fill two specialist roles.

One will work with carers whose loved ones are about to move in to residential or nursing care.

Carers group chief executive Christine Fewster said this was an area where there was “little support” for family members whose loved ones had to go into care – sometimes after years of being looked after at home.

The families “don’t know what it is going to be like and who is going to be looking after them”.

The new worker will liaise with carers and make sure they have someone to talk to “to ease their anxiety”.

The second new job is for a hospital liaison worker.

Easing the worry for families

Christine said: “It stemmed from the time when we had Covid. If someone had to go in to hospital, their carer couldn’t go in with them and there was a lot of family breakdown.

"We think it is really important to have a full-time worker at Hartlepool and North Tees Hospitals, working between the sites.

"They will liaise with carers and make sure that they speak to the right people in hospital.”

Patients might have conditions such as dementia and may not always be able to tell the hospital teams “their whole story”, said Christine.

"If someone is there who can liaise with their carer, it will make sure they are listened to.”

Are you part of the hidden army?

Hartlepool Carers currently work with 4,000 town people who provide a carers role. But that’s just a third of the estimated 12,000 people who do the work of a carer for their loved ones without getting paid for it.

“We hope we can pick up a lot of carers who are not known to us through these two schemes,” said Christine.

To find out more about Hartlepool Carers, visit www.hartlepoolcarers.org.uk/ or call (01429) 283095.