Support for Manx carers to be offered at coffee mornings

The Central Laa Meanagh centre is for older people who live in the community

A new coffee morning "dedicated to the needs" of carers on the Isle of Man is set to be launched by Manx Care.

The gatherings, which will be held every two months at the Central Laa Meanagh Day Centre for older people in Douglas at 10:00 BST, will start on 9 October.

Carers from across the island have been invited to "meet up and enjoy a coffee together" and find out what support is available for them.

Day centre manager Sonia Blake said: "We can link carers in with services, but they might just want to sit with people in similar situations and share experiences."

The Eastern Wellbeing Partnership team will be attending the sessions to discuss the types of support available in the community to help them in their caring role.

'Hard to navigate'

Ms Blake, who manages the island's five day centres for older people who live in the community, said the "demographic and dependency" of those who use the service was quite wide.

"Some go for social interaction but we also welcome people in the middle stages of dementia who are still living at home," she said.

Ms Blake said the service was often "very much first contact people have with Manx Care" and it could be "hard to navigate through the system".

She said those running the day services understood "the stresses that may bring", and the coffee mornings would be an opportunity for the team to guide them through the process, and for carers to network and get support from each other.

Those who wish to attend are asked to contact the team by 30 September.