All Change for Carers

There are over 60,000 carers in Oxfordshire, all of them our unsung heroes looking after their loved ones. Currently there are 3 Carers centres in the county, one in Didcot, one in Oxford and the other in Banbury. At yesterday's Cabinet meeting at the County Council it was decided that these would have to close and instead there would be a call centre and outreach workers to man the service. The aim is to reach more carers particularly in the rural areas. I went along to speak and ask some questions about how this call centre will work, what will be the staffing ratio and to see if this was merely a cost-cutting exercise. It is hard to tell, but the recommendation was voted through. Let us hope this new system will work.