Patricia Kearns, Senior Adult Health & Social Care Officer with the council explained: “We recognise that caring for someone with dementia can be emotionally and physically tough and that it’s likely that carers might need support at different points in their journey. Support and advice might take different forms at different times and could include information on home adaptations, on benefits, on local support groups, emotional support and what health and social care services might be able to offer. 

“The new service will be delivered through a team of local Specialist Dementia Carer Link Workers, located in each of the six localities within North Lanarkshire. They will be an important source of information and support to the carer; providing information about dementia, the diagnosis process, responding to and coping with changing behaviour associated with dementia and the impacts that dementia has upon the person and their family.”

The aim of the link worker role is to focus on meeting the needs and improve the quality of life, physical and mental wellbeing of carers of people with dementia which we hope will:

• reduce stress and distress
• maintain a healthy live/work balance
• reduction in the people with dementia being admitted to long term care

The carer link workers will provide emotional, psychosocial and educational support to carers of people with dementia through individual and/or group sessions. Carers will be offered information, tools, connections, resources and plans to enable them to support the person with dementia to live as well as possible with their diagnosis. This support will also help to prepare for them for the future and maintain their own wellbeing.

Referrals will be accepted from anyone and the service will be provided to carers who reside within North Lanarkshire.  For further information email: LanarkshireCarerSDLW@alzscot.org or call 01698 539 787.