RIGHT at Home Guildford and Farnham (GF), an award-winning homecare provider, is offering advice and support to family carers in the form of free training sessions over the summer.

These one-day sessions will cover practical issues such as basic first aid, the ‘dos and dont’s’ of helping loved ones keep mobile and what to do in the case of an emergency.

MD Alastair Shanks already runs monthly Dementia Friends sessions, helping people understand what it is like to live with dementia. The feedback he often receives is that many family carers would also welcome some more practical advice.

“Becoming a family carer can happen quite suddenly, for example if a loved one returns from hospital after a fall, or it can happen so gradually that it takes some time for the carer to realise the full extent of the role they are playing” explains Alastair.

However it comes about, the chances that someone has had some training in how to manage their new role are slim. Alastair hopes that Right at Home GF can help bridge that gap.

He adds: “Our Care Manager, Sara Woodley, is a qualified trainer and delivers all our training at our offices in Farnham. We are always looking for ways to put something back into the community and it occurred to us that the formal training we offer our CareGivers would be just as relevant to family carers.”

Right at Home GF is offering four places to family carers on each of its three training sessions over the summer, the first is on Thursday, June 9. Anyone wanting to find out more should email [email protected], or call 01252 783426.