I’ve been thinking this week about alternatives to agency care. Given some pretty shoddy experiences on here over the past few weeks, I’d like to look at alternatives for Mum, but feel daunted by employing someone directly. It got me wondering about whether it would be possible to form some sort of not for profit care cooperative. Where people with care needs band together with people who give care.
I was inspired by a few things. Stephen’s post on whether to go it alone with carers, Chris mentioning that he had formed a local group in the past and my babysitter who has care experience looking for some care work, but wanting to work for an individual, not an agency. Also my Mum talking about how the whole community looked after her Gran in the 1950s when she was very elderly. It got me thinking about whether I could form a local group.
I did a quick google search and found this, so not a unique idea…
Does anyone have any experience of cooperative care? What are people’s thoughts?
Hi Sally.
Co-operative care … I prefer mutual assistance care … splitting hairs but , for me , co-operative implies organisation whereas
mutual assistance is more crisis management , devoid of members and ensuing titles … origins of which date back to the early
1830s !
( Here in Worksop during the Miners Strike … what happened when the WHOLE community was under siege from it’s own
Government … nothing like that experience to focus attention of one’s manor to the real problems out there. )
Can be done through a local carers group … certainly worth it’s weight in gold if all members , like the one I formed , are
all lone carers.
First step will be to sound out local carers … best achieved by a simple notice in the local gp surgeries and food banks …
something like … " Are you a family / kinship carer needing support ? Please get in touch. "
Old thread witch died a death through apathy will be of some assistance here :
https://www.carersuk.org/forum/news-and-campaigns/campaigns-petitions/carers-own-dragons-den-nursery-thread-29191?hilit=dragons%20den
( Another posting of mine … buried somewhere on the forum … contained a whole blueprint in response to an effort made in
Hartlepool … doomed to failure … I’ll try and locate.
Got it : https://www.carersuk.org/forum/news-and-campaigns/latest-caring-news/hidden-carers-just-one-recent-attempt-31555?hilit=hartlepool )
If allied to a potential Carers Flag Scheme involving one or two gp surgeries , the sky would be the limit.
Have a ponder , and then get back to me.