Young Carers

Summer is upon us and the Young Carers Service has a ton of activities lined up. We’ve got something for everyone with events and activities every week of the holiday! However, to make it easy for you we’ve highlighted the main ones below, so give us a call or email if you are eager to come along!

• 25th/26th July – Creating abstract self portraits and seeing British Land’s amazing collection of art

• 9th August – a trip of the famous Stubbers Adventure Centre for a day of quad biking, rock climbing, archery and more!

• 14th August – Rockclimbing and sports at the Seymour Leisure Centre in Marylebone

• 16th August – Picnic and Sports Day in the park! Come and join us at Paddington Recreational Ground for food and sporting fun…

• 21,22,28,29th August – 4 days of writing and illustrating comics at the Fourth Feathers Youth Centre in Marylebone

• 24th August – Family day trip to Brighton. Come along with your family for a day at the seaside with the Young Carers Service!

Click to Watch 'Gok's Teens: The Naked Truth

Last night’s TV show ‘Gok’s Teens: The Naked Truth’ saw presenter Gok Wan meeting some inspirational young carers.

If you missed it, click on the image to view the video.

This video follows 16 year-old Imogen. She is one of the estimated 700,000 young carers in England and has recently found a carers support network which has changed her life.

BBC video – watch Imogen’s story

Imogen cares for her mum, who was sectioned when Imogen was nine and later diagnosed with mental health problem. Despite the important care work for she does for her mum, Imogen kept her responsibilities a secret for years, struggling without any support before discovering a young carers’ group in North Shields which has changed her life.

Imogen is now keen to tell her story, hoping it will help other young carers speak out and seek the help they need.

Choking is common and usually occurs when food or an object gets stuck in someone’s throat. Choking is dangerous because the airway can get blocked making breathing difficult. In serious cases the person choking will not be able to speak, cry out, cough or breathe.

What to do

If someone’s choking the first thing you should do is encourage them to cough.  In many cases this will help them remove whatever is causing an obstruction in their throat. However, if the obstruction is severe you will need to give back blows to the person…

• Hold your palm out flat
• With the heel of your hand, hit the person hard on their back between their shoulder blades
• Strike the person at least 5 times, checking their mouth after each blow to see if the object has been removed

If the person is still choking you will need to try some abdominal thrusts.

• Move behind the person choking
• Place a clenched first under the person’s ribcage and grasp your fist with your other hand
• You then need to pull inwards and upwards sharply
• After five thrusts, check to see if the object has been removed

If nothing happens, repeat the techniques until the obstruction is cleared, continuing to encourage them to cough. If you can’t clear the obstruction after a few cycles of these techniques you should dial 999 for an ambulance.

When someone is unconscious but still breathing normally, it’s often a good idea to put them in the recovery position. This is a useful position because:

• It prevents the person’s tongue from blocking their airway, so they can breath properly
• It keeps them in a safe position if they have to be left alone
• It allows any fluid from their month (for example blood or vomit) to drain away

How to put someone in the recovery position

• Turn the person onto their side
• Lift their chin forward so their head is tilted upward. This will keep their airway open
• Check they can’t roll forward or backward

Try and keep monitoring their breathing and remember: stay clam!

Here are some other useful links on first aid…

BBC – First aid procedure

St John Ambulance Service – First aid advice

British Red Cross – First aid guide

First Aid is something everyone can do and should learn. It can give you the confidence to act, whether you’re faced with a serious accident or a small injury. That’s why we’ve decided to post a few of the basics here, in bite-sized chunks. Also, all the information comes from the most trustworthy source: St. John’s Ambulance

The D.R.A.B Check

When you approach someone who is hurt, it can be confusing to know what to do. The D.R.A.B (Danger, Response, Airways, Breathing) check is a basic technique to help you assess the situation and it’s the starting point for all first aid. It consists of four easy steps but it’s important to do everything in the right order.

 1. Danger

Before you go and help someone you must remember to think of the risks. Are you or the casualty in danger? Will you put yourself in danger if you help the casualty? If you can, try and make the area safe before you go to help.

2. Response

If the person you are helping appears to be unconscious, you can check by shouting ‘Can you hear me?’, ‘Open your eyes’ and gently shaking their shoulders.  Does the casualty respond to your voice or a gentle shake? If someone is responsive (for example if their eyes are moving or they are talking) then you know they are getting oxygen to their brain.

3.  Airway

The next thing you need to do is check the person’s airway – the pipe that goes from your mouth and nose into your lungs, and lets you breathe. The most likely thing that might be blocking an airway is the tongue, but by tilting the head back the tongue will move out of the way. The best way to do this is to place on hand on the casualty’s forehead and gently tilt their head back. Then place the fingertips of your other hand under the casualty’s chin and gently lift it.

4. Breathing

You should then look, listen and feel for breathing for up to 10 seconds.

•    Look – to see if their chest is moving or not
•    Listen – to see if you can hear them breathing
•    Feel – for any breath on your cheek. You will need to get very close to their mouth to do this and wait for at least 10 seconds.

If the person is unconscious but breathing normally, you should put them in the recovery position and check for injuries. If someone has stopped breathing they need to go to a hospital as soon as possible, so you must call an ambulance quickly (999).

This is where you can find links to other sites that might be useful and give you more advice support or help.

You’ll also find links to interesting articles, blogs, pictures and videos by Young Carers or for Young Carers.

Contact us now if you’ve come across anything, an article, a blog, a video, that’s helped you and you want to share it with other Young Carers. Send us the information and we’ll put a link to it on this page.

Here’s a link for video you might like (skip the annoying ads on the front!)