[A] local charitable organisation has been helping Sellafield Ltd to support their carers.
Experts from ‘West Cumbria Carers’ have been to the Sellafield site to train staff to become ‘Carers Champions’.
This means they are better equipped to support employees who look after a family member, friend or neighbour with an illness or disability.
The training was held to mark Carers Right’s Day on Friday 24th November.
Alan Rankin, Equality Diversity and Inclusion lead for Sellafield Ltd, said: “We are delighted to be working with West Cumbria Carers. We are an inclusive organization with many employees who balance caring responsibilities with work, so we’re keen to ensure they are supported.”
Training was given to those who work within the human resources team, the occupational health department and union offices at the site, who wanted a better understanding of the support available to employees who have caring responsibilities.
Barbara Shepherd attended on behalf of the Prospect Union, she said; “This session has given me a much better understanding of the support and services available to those who care for people.
“We have many union reps who regularly deal with personal cases, so I’d like to broaden this training so we have more Carers Champions at Sellafield, able to direct people to the range of services offered by West Cumbria Carers.”
Sellafield Ltd donated £4,000 to the charity earlier in the year, with funds raised from the company’s ‘peer to peer’ safety scheme. The funding has helped them to deliver a range of services to people which includes benefits support, access to medical or legal services and community or social events.
Angela Longrigg, West Cumbria Carers Volunteer Co-ordinator said; ‘We are delighted to be working with staff at Sellafield as part of Carers Rights Day (24th November).
“As the biggest employer in West Cumbria it is really important that they have joined our fight to raise the profile of working carers.
“A carer is anyone of any age who cares, unpaid, for a friend or family member who due to illness, disability, a mental health problem or an addiction cannot cope without their support. There are over 19,500 carers in West Cumbria.”
“We know that many Sellafield workers will be struggling to juggle complicated jobs with and caring roles it is vital that they have access to the right support so that they can continue to care.
“We are really excited to be delivering this Carers Champion training session with staff and hope that many more will follow.”
Carers Champions act as a voice for carers in their work place community and help to promote awareness and understanding of the role of carers. They let carers know that they are not alone and support them to make contact with organisations like West Cumbria Carers for further support.
For more information on West Cumbria Carers visit https://www.westcumbriacarers.co.uk/ or contact [email protected] / 01900 821 976.
