​It’s Bury Cares Week! Celebrating the amazing work of our borough's care heroes

Carers across the borough have been pulling out all the stops to keep safe some of Bury’s most vulnerable residents during the coronavirus outbreak.

And to thank each and every one of them for their heroic actions, Bury Cares Week aims to put a spotlight on the fantastic work of teams working in Bury’s care homes, those providing care and support to people in their own homes and other types of carers including volunteers.

In the face of some real challenges, Bury’s carers have continued to be committed to provide top-quality care, doing it with bravery and compassion and making plenty of personal sacrifices along the way.

Now a celebratory video that showcases the incredible work of the borough’s care homes has been put together, featuring the daily lives of carers and care home residents. While the last few months have been incredibly difficult, it shows that there have been some high points too.

View the video here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=soGQI6Yed7k&feature=youtu.be

Councillor Andrea Simpson, Bury Council's cabinet member for health and wellbeing, said: “Bury Cares Week is our opportunity to put the wonderful care and support being provided out in the community and in our care homes in the spotlight. We want to say a huge thank you to you all.

“Our carers have been working flat out to look after some of our most vulnerable residents. The current crisis has been a massive challenge across all of our services, and our carers have shown grit and determination, remained motivated and focused on doing an amazing job to keep people safe and entertained. They have undoubtedly saved lives and we are so proud of them all.”

During the coronavirus crisis, Bury Council and NHS Bury Clinical Commissioning Group (CCG) have been supporting carers to overcome the current challenges.

Julie Gonda, director of community commissioning at Bury Council, added: “Our priority has been to support our care home teams and those working in caring roles in the community during this really challenging time. We have put in place dedicated GP support in our care homes, and providers have been supported with things like staffing and recruitment, and importantly, ensuring they have access to the correct PPE supplies to keep them safe and protected.

“We set up an innovation fund to pay for things like tablet devices to ensure residents and loved ones could stay connected virtually during lockdown, no matter what time of the day.

“We’ve also offered wellbeing support to help our caring staff remain personally resilient at this difficult time.”

Cllr. Simpson added: “During Bury Cares Week, I’d encourage local people to join us in celebrating our amazing carers. Also we mustn’t forget the many unpaid carers providing vital support right across Bury, and of course our amazing volunteers. So to all of you, from all of us in Bury, a big thank you for everything you do.”

ENDS

Issued: 15 June 2020.