Pharmacy students support unpaid carers through online Q&A

According to the most recent Census, 1 in 8 adults, or around 6.5 million people, are carers in the UK meaning that they provide unpaid care for an ill, older or disabled family member, friend or partner.

Cardiff University’s fourth year Master of Pharmacy students will be on hand this week to answer any pharmacy related questions that carers in England and Wales want to ask through ‘Carer’s Space’ – the Carers Trust’s online community.

The students will work as a team to answer all queries and will be able to consult with a qualified Pharmacist within the School of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences all week. They will also help carers better understand the role of their Community Pharmacist and the kind of services they offer. This can include helping to order essential medicines, advice on how best to take or store drugs and providing advice on coping with side effects from various medications.

Since many carers feel isolated, this forum and Q&A event provides an opportunity to seek advice from the comfort of a carer’s own home, helping them to feel less alone in their caring role.

As Susannah Carpenter, the Online Support Senior Practitioner from the Carers Trust says, ‘The Online Team is very happy that this event is taking place as it will give carers who access our communities the opportunity to ask important questions relating to pharmacy access and support, and medication issues. This is a topic that is often mentioned, both in relation to the person being cared for, as well as the support needs of carers themselves, so we feel this event will be of huge benefit to our online community at Carers Trust.’

For more information, or to take part in the Q&A, please visit https://space.carers.org/t/on-now-pharmacy-q-and-a-event/1431/2