Emma ’ s story
Emma ’ s story
12
My grandma is 74 years old and has dementia . My grandad cares for her during the day , and I care for her in the evening and at weekends .
We had assumed that grandad wouldn ’ t be entitled to any support , especially as the doctors and the people from social services that he deals with every day didn ’ t mention it .
I found out about Upfront in a newsletter from my employer , and decided to give it a go .
Using Upfront was simple and straightforward – even my 85-year-old grandad could use it !
After completing it together and reading our personalised summary , we realised that grandad could request a carer ’ s assessment from social services . This has allowed him to support my grandma with specialised respite care , so he can get a well-deserved break and a weekly game of golf !
Caring day-in , day-out for my grandma , dealing with her high support needs and aggressive behaviour , affects both our health – without this small amount of respite that my grandad now gets , I believe we would have hit breaking point .
Upfront is a free online tool that can help you get straight to the information you need .
Visit carersuk . org / upfront to give it a go !
Looking after someone carersuk . org