Full time volunteers are introduced to Carers and their families, and visit over a number of weeks in order to get to know the daily routine of care, and very importantly to establish a relationship of friendship and trust. Volcare can then offer Carers occasional whole days, weekends or even a full week of respite care. The volunteers take over the Carer’s role completely and can carry out most aspects of personal care including administration of medication, and all general day to day tasks. The volunteers work within a framework of health and safety guidelines which includes a no lifting policy but they can use hoists etc if they have the appropriate training. It is a planned service and cannot offer Carers emergency respite. Volcare is registered with the Care Quality Commission, and is inspected regularly and has to meet the government’s minimum standards of care. The service covers the Thanet, Dover and Canterbury districts and Faversham and surrounding villages. The service is free at the point of delivery to Carers and their families.

We currently run the following services:

Young Carers Service - for children and young people aged 5 - 18 years; Adult Carers Service - adult carers looking after an adult, who have a long term illness, disability, mental health problems or substance misuse;  OCLD - Older Carers of people with Learning Difficulties;  Parent Carer Support - for families of children with a disability or additional needs, providing support to parents of children aged 0 - 25 years; Alzheimer and Dementia Family Support - supporting carers with a loved one affected by Alzheimer's disease and/or dementia.  Carers Health Promotion - promoting the role of Carers to GP's and allhealth professionals to ensure the Carer is recognised and fully supported.

Faces of Kent is the contact point for all Carers residing within the Swale and Canterbury areas who wish to register for the Kent Carers Emergency Card.