IT’S been ten years since her last visit, but HRH The Princess Royal will see big changes in a Carers’ Centre situated in Fife when she visits in September.
The visit will highlight the necessary work being carried out by The Princess Royal Trust Fife Carers Centre in Kirkcaldy. Since the Princess Royal last visited the centre in 1999, the organisation has been able to buy and renovate new larger premises and supports many more unpaid carers in the Fife area.
The visit takes place on 8 September at 11.20am and on her arrival, HRH The Princess Royal will meet with the Carers’ centre manager, Mary Stewart, and Florence Burke, the director for Scotland for The Princess Royal Trust for Carers.
HRH The Princess Royal will also meet with the centre’s other staff, its committee members and local carers, Dave Lister and Nancy Beveridge who have contributed their time to the centre. In addition, HRH will meet with Jean Croly who is a former carer who now helps out at the centre.
Other invited guests include Fife councillors, senior NHS Fife staff, the local MSP Marilyn Livingstone, representatives from Alzheimer Scotland and the Big Lottery and other carers who use the centre regularly.
HRH’s visit will conclude with the reading of a poem by Kerry Black. Kerry cares for her son who has severe eczema and ADHD. She will later present Her Royal Highness with a copy of the poem that she wrote to mark National Carers Week. Kerry has had her work published and, with her son, wrote a short book for children suffering from eczema.
Services offered to unpaid carers in the Fife area include caring with confidence training, partners in care training for health and social work practitioners, one-to-one support, alternative therapies and meeting point lunches, which give carers the chance to meet up with health and social care professionals in an informal setting.
Mary Stewart said: “We’re looking forward to welcoming once more HRH The Princess Royal to Fife Carers Centre. We received funding from various sources (including the Coalfields Regeneration Trust) to help us buy and renovate the new building in 2007, as well as money from the Big Lottery to pay for three new members of staff.
“The funding for employees comes to an end in 2010 so we will particularly welcome The Princess Royal’s visit, as it will highlight the vital work we do. Our workload has expanded considerably and we have widened the services we offer.
“We would hate to lose that as the training we offer both to carers and those who work with carers has become an important feature of our work. We are now dealing with more than 70 new carers each month and 50 carers who come back to us for further support.”
Fife Carers Centre is at 157 Commercial Street, Kirkcaldy KY1 2NS.
For further information, please contact Emma Baird, Press and PR Manager Scotland, The Princess Royal Trust for Carers on 0141 285 7938/07791 230261 or email: ebaird@carers.org
A restricted number of journalists/photographers will be welcome at the event and a rota pass system will apply. If you would like to apply for a pass, please contact Emma Baird on the above number by Friday 4 September 2009.
Journalists/photographers who have been granted a pass will need to arrive by 10.45pm at Fife Carers Centre on 8 September. Photographs of the event will be available for media use after the visit – contact Emma Baird with any requirements.
NOTES TO EDITORS
The Princess Royal Trust Fife Carers Centre is part of the network of The Princess Royal Trust for Carers.
The Princess Royal Trust for Carers is one of the largest providers of comprehensive carers’ support services in the UK. Through its unique network of 144 independently-managed Carers’ Centres, 85 young carers services and interactive websites, www.carers.org and www.youngcarers.net, The Trust currently provides quality information, advice and support services to almost 354,000 carers, including over 20,000 young carers.
A carer is someone who, without payment, provides help and support to a partner, child, relative, friend or neighbour, who could not manage without their help. This could be due to age, physical or mental illness, addiction or disability. The term, ‘carer’, should not be confused with a care worker, or care assistant, who receives payment for looking after someone.
For more information on the work of Fife Carers Centre, please contact Mary Stewart on 01592 642999.
MEDIA RELEASE posted by The Princess Royal Trust for Carers. You too can post media releases (aka press releases) on allmediascotland.com. For more information, email here.
Contact: Emma Baird
Phone: 0141 285 7938
Email: ebaird@carers.org
Website: http://www.carers.org
