Events Carers Lunch and Talk Get help Planned meetings: In-person events are not currently running due to coronavirus. Click here to see online support events. 18th March Health Researchers from the University of Southampton Public, patient and carer involvement is vital to research into health and social care. Our guest speakers this month will tell you about a national study that you can help design. See more details here. 22nd April 13th May 10th June 8th July 12th August 16th September 14th October 18th November 9th December Recent meetings: 18th December 2019 Our guest speaker was Karen Prouton from Southern Health NHS Foundation Trust who gave a talk on mindfulness. You can see her presentation here. 15th January 2020 Our guest speaker was Karen Ashbolt, Community Lead for Dietetics/SLT at University Hospital Southampton NHS Foundation Trust who gave a talk about managing your own health as a carer, what to eat and what to avoid to stay well. Her presentation can be viewed here. You can also see a short presentation on cancer here. The Southampton Healthwatch survey on local cancer services is here. 12th February 2020 Topic: Looking after the health of your 'cared for' and encouraging their participation in routine health screening. How to spot signs of cancer and supporting your 'cared for' to be vigilant. Our first guest speaker was Angie Ayres, a breast cancer survivor and former carer of her parents. Her story can be read here. Our second guest speaker was Jackie Petley, Carers Lead at Southampton General Hospital. Her presentation can be downloaded here. We also provided lots of free information from Macmillan Cancer. We have additional booklets at our office and you can also order them direct from Macmillan or download them here. Further information Our Carers Lunch is a collaboration between Southampton Mencap and Carers in Southampton. It takes place monthly on a Wednesday at The Victory Centre, 154-158 Portswood Road SO17 2NH. Parking may be found at Westridge Road Car Park and costs 50p for 3 hrs. There is NO parking available at the office of Southampton Mencap or Carers in Southampton due to the Cafe Down the Lane need for customer parking. We invite speakers on relevant topics to talk from 12-1pm and this is followed by a free light lunch of sandwiches and treats from 1-2pm. Staff from Carers in Southampton and Southampton Mencap attend the lunch and are available to answer any questions you may have via our Information Desk. We ask that you tell us if you plan to attend, by phoning us on 023 8058 2387 or emailing us at [email protected]. Who can attend our Carers Lunch? Any adult who gives up their time, unpaid, to look after someone who needs additional support, such as a family member, a friend, or a neighbour. You must be resident in a Southampton city postcode or looking after someone who lives in a Southampton city postcode. Anyone who does not book their place in advance risks being turned away due to numbers (for fire regulations and catering). We suggest that bring your own a cup or water flask. Please tell us any dietary requirements when booking, even if you are a regular attendee! Please do not arrive before 11.45am.