Warwickshire News Mine

Tony Robinson from Nuneaton recently fulfilled his ambition to appear on the Channel Four hit show ‘Countdown’ and in turn raised money for his local carers’ support service Guideposts.

Tony is a full-time carer for his wife Isobel who has Alzheimers which means he can’t leave the house for long periods of time. But thanks to the Adult Social Care Team which arranged the ‘In Your Place’ service, Isobel was cared for at home while Tony travelled to Leeds to appear on the show.  ‘In Your Place’ provides short-term, home based respite support for those who care for other adults.

Tony sits on the Nuneaton & Bedworth Carers Forum and helps other people who take on a caring role. He took the opportunity of being on Countdown to raise more than £400 for the Guideposts Carer Support Service in Nuneaton. Tony has been receiving support from Guideposts since 2007. The service offers free and confidential information and support in North Warwickshire, Nuneaton, Bedworth and Rugby.

Tony fought a close game as he battled against the clock in 15 rounds of words and numbers. Tony and his opponent were neck and neck until the final round but Tony was finally defeated by the Countdown conundrum.

Despite being pipped at the post, Tony had a memorable day and enjoyed meeting presenter Jeff Stilling and the new numbers genius Rachel Riley. However, Tony was most impressed by the ‘walking dictionary’ Susie Dent who, as well as displaying her lexical prowess, also had a ‘fit of giggles’.

“The producer did make a few Baldric jokes when he saw my name was Tony Robinson. But I assured him I didn’t have a cunning plan,” said Tony.

He added: “The ‘In Your Place Service’ helped make a dream come true. I would like to thank everyone who helped make this possible and ensured my wife was well looked after while I appeared on the show. I would also like to express my gratitude to the people who generously sponsored me - they include neighbours, friends, carers and social workers.”

Elaine Cook, Carers Development Manager at Warwickshire County Council, said: “Hearing about Tony’s experience is one of the joys of the job. Carers should not just get support in times of crisis. ‘In Your Place’ is also there so people like Tony have the opportunity to take planned, one-off breaks from their caring role to help improve their quality of life and carry on caring.”

Since February 2006, the ‘In Your Place’ service has provided short-term, home based respite support to those who care for people who are over 65, or who have a physical disability or dementia. Following an assessment by Warwickshire County Council’s Adult Social Care Team, carers who are eligible can register with the service which offers up to 72 hours of support at a time. The “In Your Place “ service can be used as an emergency response in the event of carers being temporarily unable to care or on a planned basis as Tony did to enable him to have a break to do something that he enjoys.
Guideposts Carers Support Service assists carers to access the help and services that are needed and that are available to them. The charity aims to support and empower carers, enrich their lives and promote well-being. The charity also promotes carers’ rights, raises the profile of carers and caring issues to ensure that carers’ voices are heard and their views are taken into account.

For more information about carers’ support log onto http://www.warwickshire.gov.uk/carers or Guideposts http://www.guidepoststrust.org.uk

Link to WCC