Want to contact Caron?
The easiest way is to email me: at caroncares01@gmail
I check my mail frequently and respond promptly.
Caring for those who care.
Caring for those who care.
Caring for those who care.
Caring for those who care.
Want to contact Caron?
The easiest way is to email me: at caroncares01@gmail
I check my mail frequently and respond promptly.
Hiya can I have a few free room thermometers as I have lots of health problems also I’m insulin dependant diabetic and I can never tell if my house is hot or cold thank you so very much
I would like to order a Free Temperature but cannot see the appropriate tag to do so.
Thank you
J. Jones
Caron, I have not digested all of your web site as yet but it seems to me to be very interested. I am 84 male husband to my wife who suffers from vascular dementia which has developed since she had triple bypass at Derriford hospital Plymouth in 2013.
I am on antidepressant tabs twice daily but nevertheless I become very depressed as in the last 6/9 month she has become very confused with the day of the week or though I have bought her a digital clock/calender but she still prefers to always ask me instead also a friend bought her some yellow roses but this morning tells me they are daffadils.
We have not got a circle of friend and the one we have got cannot understand her confusion and rather than visit they have stopped coming across to see us at all as they almost live almost opposite in the road. This all adds to the loneliness oh! for some help All for now Stuart
Hi Caron
We really enjoy your blog and how you passionately support the social care sector. We want to encourage more people to work in social care and have hundreds of exclusive UK social care jobs over at http://www.workinsocialcare.com.
Keep up the great work!
Hello Sarah, thank you for your kind words. I am indeed incredibly passionate about all I do here on Caron Cares and on social media as a whole. I would be delighted to promote your Christmas range and may be able to also get them featured in Devon Life who I also write for. Please send me your copy and some images and I will do this for you. I love your products and also wonder if perhaps we could work collaboratively on something new? I have a good following on social media and often have giveaways which are popular. If you could maybe consider doing something along these lines it would be good too.
Dear Caron,
Lovely and informative blog, a real resource for carers and elderly people. You have a warmth which come through in your writing.
I’m Sarah from the Blue Badge Co, I look after the blog, social media and the copy on our website.
Our range is a beautiful collection of independent lifestyle products in high quality fabrics and stylish prints which includes a wide range of stylish wallets for the blue badge parkig permit, wash bags, lap trays, wheat-warmers, folding walking sticks with bags, beanbag tablet stands, pill boxes and door stops.
We like to transform the dull but essential items of everyday life into desirable, cherished belongings which speak to and represent the personality of their owner.
Our products are stocked by major retailers including Argos, Boots, WH Smiths and The Post Office.
I am writing to ask if you would be interested in featuring any of our products in a Christmas blog post such as a Christmas Wish List or Gifts for the Elderly for example. We have a new Christmas catalogue out now with some gorgeous, festive photographs.
Do get back to me if you are interested.
Many thanks and best wishes,
Sarah Pearson
I am really pleased you like Caron Cares. I think in time more and more people will find it useful as we all age and need to find ways to help older people and carers. Do you manage to find what you don’t know you need easily?
Hi Darren, brilliant that you are thinking so far in advance. I get mine from Age Uk.orders@ageuk.co.uk – give them a go. Hopefully they can let you have the 200 you need.
Hi – i am looking to get quite a few room thermometers cards made up and need a contact number – i am a PAO for the RBL Duston Branch and my chairman wants me to make sure that we are ready for the winter for all our members not just the elderly
do you have a supplier name and number – i hope you dont think i am been rude but i think asking for two hundred would be….
thank you for this and the good work
I stumbled across your web page and when i did i spent quite a while on it it is full of a great information and a good read .
My partner and I are both pensioners and we needed the information we found with out knowing we really needed it .
we will both pop back and read more.
Yes I would like to see your walking stick holder, Thomas. I would not be able to do anything with the design sadly but there is a company called dropmenot who may be.
Hello Russell and please accept my sincere apologies in such a delay in getting back to you.
Contact “Give Vision” and ask to trial the goggles. I wasn’t keen to be brutally honest and then they said they had sent out an older version to me. They were little more than a virtual reality headset with a samsung phone which mangnified/zoomed into objects. However, don’t take my experience too literally, try them yourself.
Hi Tom, it would be interesting to see your design please. You can share a link here or email me caroncares01@gmail.com
Hi Caron,
I am from and reside in Manchester, Gtr. M/c.
I have been searching the usual outlets for a walking stick holder to fit my slightly more thicker cane but to no avail, which has prompted me to reconfigurate your version.
Would you be interested in the design? I would gladly forego any claim to the design?
Many thanks,
Tom.
Thats a great idea Tammie- I love it. Most people don’t know what to buy an elderly person for Christmas. Note to self, add it to my blog post this Christmas. If you don’t mind I will pinch bits off your website and create a blog post. People with love this.
Hi – I read your piece about veterinary costs for the elderly. I cannot offer a charitable offering but I set up the 1st online vet gift voucher scheme which allows the public to purchase a gift voucher towards their friend / family members vet bills. Vouchers are less brash that giving someone money towards a bill, ‘gifting’ is a more acceptable form. The business is quite new so I am working on gaining more vets to register but please take a look at the site.
There is an option to print the voucher or to e-mail it for immediate use. Even with insurance we have an exess to cover as well as routine annual healthcare, i.e., vaccination, fleas, worms and ticks so there is always a use for a gift voucher within a year. If you would like to know more please do e-mail. All the best, Tammie
Sophie, mine come from Age UK and are elderly related. I am more than happy to share them and send you some. Perhaps you could “doctor’ them and make them look baby appropriate. Let me know how many you would like. Young lives are also amazingly precious and as a parent to loose a child is an unbearable loss. Happy to help you.
Hi Caron,
My name is Sophy and I’m a student health visitor. As part of my training I have to implement a service improvement project. My idea is to give out room thermometers at the new birth visit in a bid to reduce the risk of Sudden Infant Death Syndrome due to overheating. I notice that you give out thermometers for free and was wondering who supplies you. I have approached the trust I work for but they say they don’t have the budget to finance the initiative. I know this is not linked to your extremely worth while cause and I really appreciate you taking the time to read this.
Many thanks
Sophy
I am very sorry to read that you have had this experience and I will act on your suggestion and remove the article. It is a shame that something so useful as a stair lift has become a contentious issue. So many people have them and want them removed and so many people need them and can’t afford £5k, which is what some companies charge for them new.
Hi Caron, You had an article on here regarding recycled stair lifts… We contacted them and had a very unpleasant experience. I sent them an email explaining what we needed, who it was for etc and asked if they could help. Their site states lifts cost from £950 and I said in the email we could afford up to £1000. Someone called Mark sent me an email requesting my phone number so he could discuss it with me. When he rang he wanted to know why I had contacted them…what did I want from them?! Clearly he hadn’t even read my email, just saw the pound signs from a potential new customer. I said we were in need of a stair lift, as I had already explained in the email I sent. He then said he didn’t get involved in complex cases – it’s for our young son – and went on to accuse me of wanting them to provide a lift for free, when I had said nothing of the sort. Then he demanded to know what I expected him to do, so I said “nothing” and put the phone down. I would think twice of recommending them to your followers if I was you. xx
hi caron,
I am wondering if you could help me please,
I am interested in purchasing the sightplus goggles as I suffer from congenital glaucoma & only have one eye,
I depend on magnifiers for reading & I have to sit very close up to the tv if I want to watch anything,
I have Jaws on my computer plus Magic the magnifier,
I would be very grateful if you could advise me how to buy or receive the goggles,
thanking you in advance.
m. Julian.
I will send some out to you Emma. I could also email you the graphic. They work best on card and are more hygienic and durable if laminated. If I send you out 20 laminated ones to start with is that OK? I am self-funding so if MHA would care to make a donation, I could make more for you or they could buy a laminator (£15) and 100 laminate sheets (£10) and then everyone could have their own copy.They are so simple – I can’t believe no one has created them before!!
Good morning,
My name is Emma and i’m the home administrator at Watersdie House in Wednesfield Wolverhampton. Watersdie is a 60 bedded home that support the elderley that have Dementia. I love the idea of the point to sheets and feel that they could benefit the residents and the staff that work here. Could you possibly send some out to us please or feel free to contact me.
Thankyou so much
Kind regards
Emma
All done and will be in the post to you today.
Hi.
I have submitted for a thermomitor card but not sure if you recieved it. Simpson NE40 post code. Please could you email me if you dont have the address. Many thanks.
Hi Caron
Caring for my wife who has cancer. Important to monitor room temperatures so could I possibly have 3 x thermometers please?
Thank you
John
That is so kind of you, yes of course. I will send extra ones for your colleagues too.
Hi Caron, could I get 3
Thermometers please for my lovely elderly customers. I am a postman. My address is
Hi Carol,
If possible could you please send me a free thermometer, I am 70 and am finding it difficult to know if my heating is at a safe level. Many thanks.
My name and address is as follows:
Somerset
In the post to you Joy
In the post to you.
I have just submitted my name for a room temperature thermomenter, but it’s actually my elderly father I need the thermometer for….. He is 90 this year. His address is as follows:
Many thanks,
Gillian Purcell
Sorry, same thing happened to me! My address is:
Many thanks!
Hello Elizabeth,
Posted a thermometer off to you today.
Hi Caron
I filled out the “contact us” form with my details but clicking on “subscribe” didn’t seem to do anything.
I noticed others have given you their addresses for a free thermometer here so here is mine
……
Hello Gordon,
The thermometer is going in the post to you today. I hope you will find it and the guide to staying warm and well helpful.
Hi there, I would be grateful for one of your thermometers so I can give it to my uncle. I left my address in the form box – did you receive it? If not do email me if you can! Thanks!
Hi caron. I was wondering if it would still be possible to get one of your thermometers?
My partner has leukemia and our home isn’t very well insulated so I’d like to be able to keep an eye on the temperature.
Our address is……
Many thanks x
Added to a forthcoming blog post. It will be reshared until Christmas.
Any luck with the new number I gave you ?
You can’t post directly on Caron Cares. If you would like to share your vast insight here please email me and I would be delighted to create a guest post for you. I would be most interested to learn about your commonwealth experience you spoke of at the ICL and also the scheme of local people offering care support that we discussed.
You will have seen my email to you May, I need your home address please. I can’t see the details you provided, sorry. My fault not yours.
I have filled in my details and would be very grateful to receive a free room thermometer. Thank you . I am 71 and living with my partner who is 77 years old. Yours sincerely, May Fielding.
Fine with me! –yes, I DO like your site.
—it is just that I am not familiar with where to put this sort of thing!
Where does one normally post ” blogs’ on the site please?
I am trying to contact Pauline Paul Ltd to order some jore cushions that I bought at the NEC in Birmingham at the beginning of Nov. I have tried ringing her tel. number but it is cutting out quite quickly before you can leave a name and address can you help me do you have another contact number for them pse.
Many Thanks
Yvonne Buckley
Congratulations Caron,
I’ve been following you for a long time and really appreciate what a great job you are doing. You mentioned before that you’d have a look at ‘Call to Mind’… the board game designed specially for people living with dementia. I’d love you to include it in your Christmas gifts for the elderly guide. “It sparks conversation across generations. It’s a great way to get families and carers talking and finding out about each other. It encourages more visiting by addressing “I don’t know what to talk about” situations. Please have a look at http://www.call-to-mind.com I’d love to get your feedback. Thanks.
Very interesting – this posts as a comment but I may use it as a blog post if that’s OK with you. Thankyou and I am delighted that you like Caron Cares.
Design of rise rest recline chairs for the elderly:
An ideal chair would be:
(1)capable of being easily moved on a carpeted floor so that one can easily vacuum underneath it. (it took three “reluctant” visits of one manufacturer to successfully achieve this, —my experience)
(2) -fitted with massage units —-but what type? percussive is perhaps OK for those with deep-vein thrombosis problems,
—-but one perhaps needs “laterally” cyclic massage units for use by the aged, as they are not so likely to cause as much cell-damage as percussive units. I am NOT an expert in this field
so I do not know the relative importance of this —I am just posing a rhetorical question.
(3) When a handset is used to control these, ( and also for lumber heating pads) the locational diagram on the hand-set should be at least roughly accurate so that it coincides with the location
of the massage units on the chair itself! (-mine was defective in this way)
(4)The front lift of the chair should be designed so that as it goes up, — when it gets to about 30° from the horizontal, — the rear part of the “seat” of the chair needs to descend at the rear end. This is to stop the body from sliding the feet forward if the chair back is still vertical, the aged back would therefore be bent, and under unnecessary stress. (e.g if watching TV with the legs horizontally rested)
(5) The chair should be designed to accommodate a doctors’ instruction for the remedial process for “Cellulitis” problems*.
When walking over grass (with shoes on) in summer small flies can attack the lower legs without one even being aware of the bites, this causes infection which makes ones feet swell so one cannot even get a normal sized shoe on your feet! The usual remedy for this is a doctor’s prescription for antibiotics for a week. But it is well known that the most important thing to make
the antibiotic treatment work, is to keep the legs very highly suspended. I therefore believe that , to cover this eventuality,
the front of the chair should be capable of rising the legs to about 70° to 80° from the horizontal.
(note: Regarding Cellulitis*— one also needs to buy, one pair of very large shoes and an exactly similar style of normal sized shoes, -so that if one leg is swollen one can still go out or drive! -both shoes look similar and whichever leg has the cellulitis,-it has the bigger boot!)
(6) It is possible to get chairs with good looking urine resistant fabrics which are extremely warm, but these need the person to sit on a cushion as they cause excessive perspiration.
(7) The power source for these chairs (as also used for portable radios etc.) is usually a plug-in transformer into a 13 amp socket
(which should be of a switched type with neon indicator light).
Unfortunately these “transformer-plugs” are often cheaply made in the far-east and sometimes have defective seals in the plastic body which give way after a few months use. This means that the old person using it can put their fingers/hand on the uncovered live electric terminals!
Hi Caron,
Could i please ask for 4 thermometers if you have them Please.
I am a carer for 2 of my elderly relatives ages 90 and 70, I check on my brother and his arthritic wife on a weekly basis and I am also keeping a daily eye on a 90 year old elderly neighbour so one of these will benefit her too.
Many thanks in advance.
Keep up the good works
Hi Joe, I have shared this to my busy FB page Caron Sprake and will also share it on Twitter and my blog. Keep me in the loop please as I would love to follow your project. Lovely for a youngster to want to help carers. I attended the Future of Ageing conference in London yesterday and trust me, we have a care and carer crisis.
Dear Caron,
My name is Joseph White I am a Masters student studying Medical product Design at Nottingham Trent University.
As part of a group project I am working towards developing a product or system with the aim to promote independent living for the elderly and further aim to reduce stress on care givers.
To ensure that the project is well informed we have created a short online survey, aimed at identifying the key areas of concern for carers. We came across your Facebook group page and wondered if it would be at all possible to share our survey on there to obtain more results.
On behalf of the group I would like to thank you for any help you may be able to provide, hopefully this project can lead to something that can help a lot of people.
Please follow the link below.
https://researchgroup.typeform.com/to/xLEyth
Kind Regards,
Joseph White
Msc Medical Product Design,
Nottingham Trent University UK
Bless you Caron for your kindness for making it possible for this elderly lady to obtain a free room thermometer.
I am dependent on electricity to heat my flat during the colder months and often have to choose between eat or heat when we experience a bitter snap.
Carry on the good work dear, and thank you once again for helping out.
Hi Caron
As you may have heard, we are closing down our online shop to focus on our Designing for the Future student design projects. You have very kindly supported us thus far and I know that you do such good work for older people. I would like to send you free 2 Trabasacks from our range for you to do with as you wish. Hopefully you can put them to good use in some way? Let me know if you are happy for us to send them to you and where they should be sent. Many thanks Philippa
Thank you John not only for your kind words about my work but also such an interesting and in depth comment.
I have a vocational history of working in the acute physiological sector of healthcare , and predominantly anaesthesia, intensive care and surgery where I have worked extensively in neurosurgery and neuroscience. Beyond that, I have life-long experience of mental health issues – in terms of looking after family members with dementia and other life-altering mental health conditions, and also enduring my own recurrent episodes of depression and enduring eating disorder. I have worked closely with mental health groups since the early 1980s and for the last three years I’ve also been a publicly elected Governor for a major mental health NHS Trust.
Even as recently as the mid 1980s it was commonplace for dementia sufferers to be consigned either to long-term psycho-geriatric care or ‘dumped’ in care facilities wholly unsuitable to their needs. Although since the early 1990s there has been greater detection and understanding of the myriad forms of dementia, treatments remain largely elusive, but more shockingly, care of dementia sufferers has, and in parts remains, wholly unsuitable and inadequate, not just with respect to cognitive care and motivation, but even in tending to the most basic physical and emotional needs of persons with dementia who are frequently unheard and un-noticed.
It has become the norm here for the most vulnerable people in society to generally be cared for by woefully trained, abysmally paid and unmotivated work-forces lacking leadership and guidance. This is changing, but has a long way to go. We must do more to change this. Key to this is ensuring that people do not end up in such facilities by default, but are given the information, advice and support, to maintain an independent life as much as possible in their own home or within other sectors of the wider community. To ensure they have contact with others, that they are stimulated when necessary and above all, understood, which of itself needs the public to be better educated and to this end I applaud the work of groups such as Dementia Friends.
The diagnosis of dementia should not mean the end of a person’s life; we need to appreciate how very much of the person remains. If that person had broken a leg, then we’d be rather more pragmatic – send them to the orthopaedic specialist, fix the break and ensure that physiotherapy and social care is in place. Now we can’t as yet halt dementia, but we can collectively do so very much to stave it’s aggressive progress and to help sufferers enjoy a better quality of life and equally as important – a longer life in which to enjoy that state. That takes a sea-change in attitude from the public, society and support services.
I’m off to a World Mental Health Day event today organised by the Arts in Libraries Service of St. Helens Council who recently won the National Lottery Award 2016 for their Cultural Hubs programme, which I am proud to have been a part of.
We will be showcasing the artistic talents of local people with mental health issues, and this will comprise, this year, of art instillation, song, music, poetry and other forms of spoken word and dance. I have performed several times in our libraries in the past-in drama and as a stand-up comedian as part of the Stand Up To Stigma campaign which was lottery-funded and delivered in a collaboration between Time To Change, The Comedy Trust (Liverpool) and with the support of Cultural Hubs – the aim of that campaign was to break down taboos and inform the public mental health issues – both of others and the likely consequence of them experiencing their own. Now who’d have though a collection of anxious depressives with issues including OCD, self-harm and eating disorder could not only keep audiences laughing for a couple of hours, but also engage and inform.
I would hope that other libraries and public spaces throughout the UK and beyond would undertake their own initiatives for mental health engagement. It shows, as with the wonderful works of CaronCares just how much can be achieved with a little thought and tenacious application.
In addition to the entertainment on offer today we also have local mental health cohorts from the NHS, local authorities and charities etc – many with information stalls and a listening ear and useful advice. I will be introducing those who are not already aware to the services on CaronCares.
Hi there,
My name is Alex and I am the Digital Marketing Manager at Nourish Care. We want to buck the trend of negative media coverage of UK care and would love to have you on board. I think that our Care
Stories video series would be of interest to your website’s visitors.
Our aim is to spread awareness of great care through the distribution of our Care Stories video series and press release. Our first video of 5, tells the story of Victor, a World War 2 hero, pilot, violinist and boxer and his experience in a care home.
Please read the press release here – it would be fantastic if you could share it on your website.
http://www.nourishcare.co.uk/2016/09/26/challenging-negative-media-coverage/
We are a company that aims to give carers more time to care. Our focus is to eliminate admin and enhance care management to improve the lives of people who need care, and for those who provide it. From care managers to carers, we provide technology that empowers carers to do what they do best: help people they care for and enjoy the best quality of life possible.
I’d love to talk to you further about getting the word out to your readers. If you have any questions or need any further information, please don’t hesitate to email or call me directly.
Take care and I look forward to hearing from you
Alex Sorisi
e: alex@nourishcare.co.uk
t: 002380 002288
w: http://www.nourishcare.co.uk
Hello Helen, I have replied to you via email but I get my thermometers from my local Age UK but if you email orders@ageuk they will be able to help you out for bulk orders.
Hello, I work for a small charity that helps people with fuel debt. We are holding a number of events for elderly people and would love to be able to give out some room thermometers and info leaflets. Could you point me in the right direction please.
Hi Caron,
We have heard about the wonderful fund raising that you do and we would like to know how we could support you, please ring or email me to set up a meeting so we can discuss ways that we can get involved,
Thanks Nicola
Hello Ann,
If you or someone you know has a printer at home you can make them yourself using this link . If not let me know and I will make some for you.
If you do make them yourself, remember to click the 4 cards box so you make 4 per page not just one.
Hi how do I get a dementia card plz
You are very welcome. I have just checked my electronic thermometer to find my own house was cold ! Pot, kettle….
I have removed your comment and address details. Many apologies and I hope you are finding your thermometer useful in this colder weather?
I would be grateful if you would delete the this comment including my address details.
Regards
Hubert
Thank you so much for sending the room thermometer. I lost my last trusty Age Concern thermometer (I think it was packed away with the Christmas decorations !!) and am so relieved to have a replacement. Best Regards x
Thank you Dee. I look forward to meeting you there. I love your blog and have shared it on my FB .
Hello – just wanted to say congratulations on getting through to the final in the UK Blog Awards…wishing you the very best of luck 🙂
Dee (Break Out The Skinny Girl blog)
Hello Hubert,
Many apologies for this, it was an oversight on my part. I obviously didn’t pay attention to my Pay Pal emails that would have alerted me to the fact you had paid. It will be in the post in the morning. Many thanks for bringing this to my attention.
It is really easy to make the dementia assistance cards yourself. All you need is a computer or smartphone and a printer. Visit http://www.dementiaassistancecard.com and make some today. If you do not have a printer I can help. If you contact me using my contact form at the top of the website and let me know 1)The name of the person with dementia 2) the name of their emergency contact 3) the contact number of the emergency contact and lastly the address to send the cards to. I will make 4 cards and laminate them. I put holes in 2 of them so they can be used for tags, key rings etc and leave 2 plain. I also add two companion/carers cards. I hope this helps? Please help me spread the word about the cards they are totally free after all.
HI- I would like to find out more about the dementia assistance card- specially how one can order if they have no internet access.
Regards,
Hello Parveen,
Thanks for contacting me here at Caron Cares and for emailing me your address. I have posted the thermometer to you and you should receive it soon. Please add me to your favourites so you can visit regularly!
Many thanks and best wishes, Caron
Hi Caron,
Ive been trying to submit the form to receive a free room thermometer but the ‘Submit’ button doesn’t seem to work. The thermometer will come in handy in my parents room who are both elderly. Please can you provide me with a private e-mail/contact information to send you my address privately.
Many thanks for your help.
Parveen Rahman
I am pleased to be of help David. I hope you will enjoy the newsletter, I like being able to stay in touch with people and share useful ideas and info. Have you had a chance to read my “Wheelchairs by Wings” story ? You will find it at the top of the page at Caron Cares.
Nice to hear from you and thanks for your interest. Help me spread the word.
Thanks Caron. Look forward to the news letter. The thermometer will be really helpful.
David
11 Shelley Close
Winchester
Hants
SO22 5AS
Hello Mary,
Thank you so much for your lovely kind comments about Caron Cares, you won’t know how much I appreciated them. I spend all my spare time working on Caron Cares to provide the one stop resource you say it is and as it is still only 10 months old I still have much to do.Please help spread the word so we can help more people who are caring for someone elderly. Sharing is caring. Well done for doing all that you do for your parents, it is so difficult when both have different health issues and need to support each other. Best wishes and please visit again.Caron
Hello Avril,
I am posting your free room thermometer in the morning. It also comes with the Age Uk ‘Spread the Warmth’ brochure which contains handy information.
Best Wishes,
Caron
I am applying for a free thermometer ,address is
Truly a fantastic “one stop” for all that concerns me. Well done and congratulations for a very informative site. My mother has just been diagnosed with Vascular Dementia, she is also having to be my father’s eyes/carer – he is 94 and blind. Mum will be turning 88 this year. I am helping in every way that I can to make their lives comfortable and safe. I travel two hours to visit them every week and have no regrets either. I can not move them at present, until mum is ready to make this move. Then a two hour trip home for me at the end of the day. I’m in telephone contact daily with them. Grocery shopping I do online for them. This website has almost all the answers to the many questions I have. Thank you.