Frequently Asked Questions

A carer is anyone 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.

We offer a wide range of services to help support carers in their roles, such as a volunteer-based sitting service which allows the carer a break, free of charge counselling sessions, general information, support and advice. We also provide emotional wellbeing workshops to help with mindfulness and stress management, and events/activities to allow carers to meet others experiencing similar situations and give each other mutual support.

Carers needing support from NPT Carers Service can reach out to us for information and advice about their legal entitlements as carers, and what other services and organisations are there to support them in their caring role; or they can request help to enjoy a much-needed break from their caring responsibilities via our sitting service or "breaks for carers", where we organise day trips, workshops and more.

All carers new to the service have the right to an assessment. This is a time set aside for you to talk about your caring role and what help or support you could benefit from.

If you feel your mental health has been affected by your caring role (for example, you have been experiencing stress, anxiety or similar) and would like to talk to someone about it, we are able to provide free counselling sessions through our professional counsellors.

We put out a seasonal newsletter that details all our upcoming events, workshops and activities. We put on coffee mornings, nature walks, emotional wellbeing workshops, arts and crafts days, singing sessions, shopping trips and much more.

We are currently in talks with organisations like Cyfle Cymru and established education centres like Neath Port Talbot College to offer carers a wide range of free, fully-funded courses in things like manual handling and first aid. We are also offering a brand new course with MIND covering topics such as stress management, grief and confidence building.

We are always on the lookout for volunteers who want to help us with our service. Volunteers can support carers by looking after their loved ones whilst the carer gets the opportunity to have a much-needed break. We also need help raising awareness by handing out leaflets and providing a friendly presence on our outreach posts.

We offer courses to help with everyday challenges such as manual handling and basic first aid. We also have some fantastic links with Cyle Cymru and Neath Port Talbot College that specialise in a wide variety of free courses too - these include basic I.T., safeguarding and more.

You can find us on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram, where we post regular updates of our upcoming activities and share useful information and news to support our carers. We also send out a quarterly print newsletter and regular email bulletins updating our carers about our services, workshops and events.

Unfortunately, the service is only available to those who are looking after someone. After a carer’s cared-for person passes, the carer is removed from the database and we point them towards different organisations and charities who are better able to assist. We do however offer a grace period of 6 months where you can still access our services and attend our activites/events.

Many of our carers are referred by social services, but you can access us directly, too. You can refer yourself via email (information@nptcarers.org.uk), phone (01639 642277) or get in touch directly though the website by using the "contact us" page.

No formal carer or social worker is needed.

No. The only exception is that we may ask for a very small fee if we put on a particular activity, such as providing hot meals. at our annual Christmas parties. Generally speaking, these sorts of activities will be in the minority and we will let you know in advance if there will be a charge.

Yes, we frequently visit GP's, local community centres and other charities to spread the word about our services. We also run drop-in sessions and free, confidential advice at these posts.