Prevention Matters

Lilian has been a long-term carer for her son who went into residential care earlier this year.

Prior to this, Lilian had been the carer for her husband who had motor neurone disease and found that she no longer had the time or energy to keep in touch with friends.

After so many years of caring for her husband and son, Lilian found herself alone at home and had lost the confidence to go out and join in community groups.

When she was referred to Prevention Matters, Lilian was recovering from shingles and a fall.

The CPW met with Lilian and, agreeing that a slow pace was ideal, started with a Reminiscence coffee morning at her local library. This was a great success and Lilian met someone there from the Day Centre who suggested that Lilian might like to come along and see if she would like it there.

The CPW also approached Bucks Carers who were delighted to welcome her to one of their smaller meetings as a good starting point.

All of the visits to these various groups and centres proved to be a great success and at every visit Lilian met people she knew from her past, previous neighbours and even someone from her village school. A referral was also made to Age UK for the befriending service and she has now been introduced to her new friend with dates in the diary for visits.

The CPW also prompted a review of Lilian’s hearing aids and sight tests which had been overlooked and this has made it easier for her to enter into conversations and groups.

Lilian is now linked into the community and accessing the transport available to take her to the day centre.