• Life with a child with complex needs

    Life with a child with complex needs

    My name is Jill and I’m mum to Noah who is 8 years old. He was born with a rare type of interstitial lung disease and following lots of investigations, Noah had a tracheostomy and was put on a 24/7 ventilator with oxygen. He is now only on the ventilator when he is asleep or…

  • Carer vs Caring or a Caring Carer?

    Carer vs Caring or a Caring Carer?

    I am a non-professional carer for my daughter, twenty-four hours a day, seven days a week. Do you know that the dictionary definition of the word ‘caring’ when used as an adjective is: “feeling or showing care and compassion?” It’s also used by health and social professionals to describe a person or function. For example, nursing…

  • Something positive, something negative, and a take-home message for our students.

    Something positive, something negative, and a take-home message for our students.

    I am proud to have been involved in Service User and Carer involvement in one way or another for around 40 years or so now. One of the most exciting areas of activity, in my opinion, has been the involvement in professional education and in particular, Social Work courses. Having a central budget and a…