Carers Week – We’re here to make time count

This is Carers Week – an annual campaign to raise awareness of caring, highlight the challenges unpaid carers face and recognise the contribution they make to families and communities throughout the UK. It also helps people who don’t think of themselves as having caring responsibilities to identify as carers and access much-needed support.

This year’s theme is ‘Building Carer Friendly Communities’, to highlight the impact carer-friendly communities can have in making a real and lasting difference to the lives of carers everywhere.

There are over 700,000 unpaid carers in Scotland who provide family members, friends and loved ones with support.

At MND Scotland, we know that carers are at the heart of the support network of someone living with MND.

Founded in 1981, MND Scotland is the only charity in Scotland dedicated to directly supporting people living with motor neuron disease and carers.

Whether you are a partner, family member, or friend, caring for someone with MND can bring many different emotions and challenges. You may be juggling appointments, practical tasks, finances, work, family life and your own wellbeing, often while trying to adjust to changes as they happen.

Our financial, emotional, and practical services can help carers to feel more in control, lessen anxiety, and better manage your situation so that you can build precious memories with your loved ones and make time count.

If you’re caring for someone with motor neuron disease (MND), we can help.

Our dedicated support team provide the following support:

• Benefits advice and income maximisation
• Counselling and Bereavement service
• Advice and support service supporting people with housing, adaptations, and care needs
• Voice banking funding
• Accessible holiday lodges in St Andrews and Oban
• Wills and Power of Attorney Service
• Policy and campaigning to represent the voices of people with MND

Between 2024/2025, we were able to offer the following support to people living with MND and their carers:

• 91 families enjoyed a much-needed break at our fully-accessible specialist lodges in St Andrews and Oban, giving families precious time together.
• We delivered extensive practical and financial assistance, including 581 benefits reviews, which resulted in £1.4 million of generated income.
• We provided 571 counselling sessions for carers, families, and people living with MND.
• Our equipment service provided 373 essential items, from riser recliners to eating aids, and cost £121,051.
• In total, we invested £770,423 in direct support (excluding holiday service costs), ensuring people living with MND and their families received help when they needed it.

Alongside the support available from MND Scotland,, there may also be local support available right on your doorstep from local carer centres.

Local carer centres across Scotland can offer information, advice and practical support in your area. This may include help with understanding your rights as a carer, accessing short breaks, finding local groups, looking after your wellbeing, planning for the future and connecting with other carers.

You do not usually need a referral to contact your local carer centre. You can get in touch with them directly.

Care Information Scotland has a directory of carer centres across Scotland, so you can find support in your local area: https://www.careinfoscotland.scot/topics/support-for-carers/carer-centres/

This year marks the 45th anniversary of MND Scotland, and we will continue to make time count for as long as the MND community needs us.

As the only charity in Scotland dedicated to directly supporting those affected by MND as well as investing in research, we rely on fundraising income to continue our work.

Thank you to all the carers who continue to provide support to friends, families and loved ones affected by MND.

To find out more about how MND Scotland can help support you or your family following an MND diagnosis, please get in touch by calling: 0141 332 3903, emailing: support@mndscotland.org.uk.

For more information about Carers Week, please visit: https://www.carersuk.org/news-and-campaigns/our-campaigns/carers-week/