Connect |

Carers often become isolated as a result of their caring responsibilities and need help with how to navigate the system in order to get what they need for the person they care for, along with support for themselves.

Queen's has a network dedicated to staff with caring responsibilities for the elderly, sick or individuals with a disability.

CONNECT (Caring for Others Network - Nurturing, Empowering and Communicating Together) meets regularly either in person or via Teams. It provides an opportunity for staff to socialise and seek advice from colleagues who have lived experience of the issues they are facing.

The Diversity and Inclusion Unit launched the network with a lunch at Riddell Hall in March 2022 and held a Christmas lunch in December 2022. Going forward, we hope to hold more similar events to give carers some well-deserved time to relax and meet with other colleagues who care.

We regularly invite speakers along from various relevant organisations to share useful advice and knowledge.

The network is also consulted on new policies, and we were recently involved in providing feedback regarding the Agile and Flexible Working policies and toolkits.

Meetings are usually held quarterly on either a Tuesday or Thursday morning but you can contact your colleagues via Teams for help and support at any time.