05 May 2011
Jersey’s Ambulance Service has joined up with parishes in the Island to offer a roadshow which makes older parishioners and their families more aware of the services on offer in Jersey which could give them help and support.
The event aims to raise awareness of the support services available to senior Islanders, their friends, family, carers and the parish communities. The first event, which will tour other parishes, is to be held at St Martin’s Public Hall on Thursday 12 May.
Kate Cadigan, a paramedic at the Ambulance Service is one of the event organizers. She said “St Martin is one of a few parishes to set up a community support team and it is partly for this reason that the Ambulance Service, who are co-coordinating the day, approached the Connetable, Silva Yates, requesting that St Martin be used to host the flagship event, which will tour the other parishes in the future. We really do hope people will come along and support it.”
The event, which runs between 11 am and 3 pm, will provide information and a chance to ask questions about what is on offer in the Island as well as hopefully gain some feedback from those who the services are designed to reach and specifically the needs and wants of St Martin’s parishioners.
“Everyone is welcome whether the interest is for you, a family member or merely to understand more about what is on offer. Also, we hope that anyone who has a little free time and would like to learn more about volunteering opportunities will benefit from the event,” said Kate.
It is anticipated that there will be around 10 agencies present including representatives from:
- Family Nursing and Home Care
- Community Alarms, St John Ambulance
- Caring for the Carers
- Health Promotion, who have an Island walks scheme
- the Alzheimer's Association.
The Ambulance Service will be offering free blood pressure checks and a pharmacist will be present to answer questions on medications.
“As this is the first event of what will hopefully be a long term project, we are very keen for feedback on what parishioners feel has been useful and what else people would like to see included in the future,” added Kate. “We hope this will be a sociable day that will benefit all involved.”
Health and Social Services Minister Deputy Anne Pryke added "We hope that all Islanders will be interested in this event and subsequent events in other parishes. I am well aware of the extraordinary work that charities and organisations, apart from Health and Social Services, do for Islanders, and the kind of support they offer to people who need their services and their families. I wish everyone who has organised and who takes part in the event a successful day, and would urge people to go along and support it to find out more about the wide range of services on offer in Jersey. It is good that some parishes, such as St Martin, St Lawrence and St Clement, have community support teams and volunteer networks who provide a support system for those who need it."
The newly formed St Martin Community Support Team will provide teas and coffees at the event.
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