A fortnightly Tuesday day club at St Luke's Church in Bowdon, built to give family carers a few hours off: two-course meal included, first visit free, then £60.
There is a day club running fortnightly on a Tuesday at St Luke’s Church in Bowdon that is aimed at two people at once: the person who comes along, and the family member who drops them off and then, for a few hours, has nothing to organise.
The Radfield Club is run by Radfield Home Care Altrincham, Sale & Trafford, whose registered manager, Victoria Baker, has worked in health and social care for 27 years. She got in touch with this site to make a point about the part of home care that rarely gets written about: the husband, wife, son or daughter doing the caring, who usually does not call it caring at all.
“Behind so many people who are managing to remain living at home is an unpaid carer, a husband, wife, son, daughter, relative or friend who quietly takes on more and more responsibility,” she writes. “It can start with something small. A weekly food shop. A lift to an appointment. Helping with medication. Making sure someone has eaten.”
Then it grows. “The person who was simply ‘helping Mum’ is suddenly coordinating appointments, managing medication, preparing meals, worrying about falls, arranging shopping and trying to balance all of this alongside work, children and their own life. And often they don’t call themselves a carer. They’re just being a husband. A wife. A daughter. A son. They’re doing what families do.”
What she says happens next
Baker’s argument is that the point at which families ask for help is usually far too late, and that this is a consequence of the caring, not a failure of it.
“Over the years, I have seen many unpaid carers reach a point where they simply cannot keep going in the same way,” she says. “It isn’t because they don’t love the person they are caring for. Quite the opposite. It is often because they love them so much that they have kept going for too long without asking for help.”
She lists what the build-up looks like: “A lack of sleep. Not seeing friends. Giving up hobbies. Taking time off work. Feeling guilty about leaving the person they care for. Feeling that everything depends on them. Eventually, something has to give.”
And the wider point, from someone who has spent nearly three decades in the sector: “I genuinely believe that without the contribution of unpaid carers, our health and social care system would be in a far more difficult position than it already is. Yet the people providing that care can sometimes feel invisible.”
What the Club actually is
The Radfield Club meets fortnightly on a Tuesday in the church hall at St Luke’s, Bowdon. A carer brings the person they look after to somewhere familiar, and then the afternoon is their own.
“Perhaps they go home and catch up on some sleep. Perhaps they meet a friend for coffee. Perhaps they go shopping without having to worry. Perhaps they simply sit quietly for a couple of hours,” Baker says. “Sometimes you don’t realise how much you need a break until you finally get one.”
The session includes activities, conversation, trained staff and a two-course meal, all within the price. Radfield is currently offering a free first visit so a family can look at it before committing, then an introductory £60 a session for the next five sessions, after which the price rises to £80 a session.
Baker is firm that the person attending is not there to be minded. “The person attending The Radfield Club isn’t simply being ‘looked after’. They are spending time with other people, having conversations, enjoying activities, laughing, having a cup of tea, enjoying a meal and being part of something. Because day support shouldn’t be about taking someone away from their normal life. It should be about helping them remain connected to it.”
The other groups she wants people to know about
The part of Baker’s pitch that is most useful to readers has nothing to do with her company. Over recent months, she says, Radfield staff have been getting out across Altrincham, Sale, Timperley, Hale, Bowdon and the wider borough to find what already exists, and the answer is: quite a lot.
She names Parkinson’s exercise groups; coffee mornings at Altrincham Methodist Church, St Martin’s Church in Ashton upon Mersey and St John’s in Sale; the luncheon group at The Vine; and Sporting Memories sessions at Sale Moor and at Altrincham Football Club. Those are her list, not ours, so it is worth ringing ahead before turning up at any of them.
“Sometimes the answer isn’t another service,” she says. “Sometimes it is finding the right connection. A coffee morning. A walking group. A community activity. A dementia or memory group. A church group. A luncheon club. An exercise group. A sporting activity. A hobby that someone thought they had given up forever. Something that gives a person a reason to get up, get dressed and go out.”
When a club is not the answer
Baker is also clear that a fortnightly session will not suit everyone, and will not suit the same person forever. “Someone may initially benefit from attending a group but later find that getting out of the house becomes more difficult.” The company also provides one-to-one companionship in the person’s own home, including accompanying someone on an outing, alongside visiting care, respite and live-in care.
Her closing question is the one worth carrying away from the piece, whether or not a family ever rings Radfield: “We talk a lot about supporting older and vulnerable people, and quite rightly. But I think we also need to ask: who is supporting the person doing the caring? Because if we want people to remain at home for longer, we need to make sure that the people helping them to do that aren’t left carrying everything alone.”
What she hopes the Club becomes, in her words, is “a place where the carer can say: for a few hours, I know they’re okay. And I can take a breath.”
What it means for you
- The Radfield Club runs fortnightly on a Tuesday at St Luke’s Church, Bowdon. The dates of the next sessions and the start and finish times are not published, so ring before planning around it.
- The first visit is free. After that it is £60 a session for five sessions, then £80 a session. Activities, staff and a two-course meal are in that price.
- Book or ask about dates on 0161 533 0344 or altrincham@radfieldhomecare.co.uk. The office is at Caidan House, Canal Road, Timperley WA14 1TD.
- If a paid club is not what your family needs, the community groups Baker names above are the place to start.
- The franchise is operated by Anmhai Ltd, company number 16976358.
Sponsored feature for Radfield Home Care Altrincham, Sale & Trafford.
Have your say