Lanarkshire Carers Annual General Meeting (AGM) 2020
Thank you to everyone who attended our AGM and Annual Conference on Monday 21 September 2020. We have received positive feedback from those who attended. You can find a summary of the event below.
‘Forward Thinking for 25 Years’
On Monday 21 September 2020 we held our first virtual AGM with 124 carers, staff, board members and professionals in attendance from across Lanarkshire and beyond. Translators were also present for those carers from Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic backgrounds who required interpretation support.
Opening Remarks
Samar Sheikh, Chairperson for Lanarkshire Carers opened the event and provided a board update, governance review, as well as details of our revised articles of association and the resolution proposed for approval. This resolution details the organisations use of remote and digital meeting arrangements.
The proposed resolution was passed by those in attendance.
Click here to view the revised articles of association (pdf)
Board Introduction
Members of Lanarkshire Carers Board of Directors introduced themselves virtually to those in attendance.
Minutes of Previous meeting/Matters Arising
The minutes of last year’s AGM meeting, on 23 September 2019, were checked for accuracy, matters arising and then approved.
Presentation of Audited Accounts
Brian Fitzgerald, Treasurer at Lanarkshire Carers presented the Audited Accounts to those in attendance which were approved along with approval of the auditor for this year.
A copy of our Audited Accounts for 2019 - 2020 will be available for viewing on our website soon.
Annual Report and Operational Update
Barbara McAuley, Chief Executive Officer at Lanarkshire Carers presented the Annual Report for 2019-2020. Barbara thanked everyone for making the time to attend our first Digital AGM and introduced how we have been working differently since March 2020.
The presentation provided highlighting from the annual report and some of the key achievements of the organisation during the reporting period. Barbara encourage everyone to read the full report for more details about all our work, including our COVID-19 response and our focus for the future.
Barbara finished by talking about choice and control for carers. Delivering personalised support is central to our work and we are always reassured by the positive feedback our services receive.
Barbara thanked every carer for everything they do to keep the person they care for safe and well.
It is our privilege to be here to support you in any way we can with that crucial role, we clap for you, the unpaid carers.
We are also here for you whenever you need our support. Your health and wellbeing is our priority.
Click here to view the Annual Report 2019-2020 (pdf)
Carer Conversations and Achieving Personal Outcomes
Since mid-March 2020 many things have changed for Lanarkshire Carers and indeed the whole world in response to the global pandemic. We have been very fortunate to have had the infrastructure in place to continue our work. This forward thinking meant that carers continued to have access to the information, advice and support they need. The clip below offers a glimpse into how our staff meetings have changed and how we are all finding the current remote working arrangements:
Lanarkshire Carers gathers case studies about our work as part of our reporting framework. Carers stories speak most clearly about the positive difference we make and we are always extremely grateful to those who feel able to talk about this.
Members of the staff team at Lanarkshire Carers described having meaningful conversations with carers and how the services we provide change their lives. We shared stories from three people who care in Lanarkshire who explained how they benefitted from the support we provide and the difference it makes. A big thank you to Ian, Linda and Jane for their contributions.
Digital Innovation
The next part of the event involved 2 presentations from invited guests about Digital Innovation happening in Lanarkshire.
Morag Hearty, Programme manager for NHS Lanarkshire provided a short presentation about the NHS Near Me Service
This was followed by a presentation from Laurel Gattenby, User Interface & Interaction Designer from NHS Education Scotland’s Digital Service who provided a short presentation on online Anticipatory Care Planning.
Before each of the presentations we asked those in attendance about their experiences with the services being showcased. After each presentation participants were asked if they would consider using these services now that they knew more about them. The results were as follows:
Have you heard of - or used - the NHS Lanarkshire Near Me Service?
- Half of the participants had heard or or used the NHS Lanarkshire Near Me Service prior to the presentation.
After today’s presentation, do you now feel more informed and perhaps more likely use the ‘Near Me’ service in the future?
- The majority of participants said that they now feel more informed and perhaps more likely to use the ‘Near Me’ service in the future.
Have you heard of Anticipatory Care Planning?
- Over half of participants had heard of Anticipatory Care Planning.
Would you consider thinking about preparing an Anticipatory Care Plan?
- Half of the participants are now considering thinking about preparing an Anticipatory Care Plan.
The AGM was brought to a close by Samar Sheikh and Barbara McAuley. Feedback from the event was extremely positive and we look forward to delivering further events of this nature with carers and professionals in the near future.
If you would like more information on anything covered at our AGM or would like more information on the services we provide, please contact Lanarkshire Carers by phone or email:
- By phone: 01698 428090 / 01236 755550
- By email: info@lanarkshirecarers.org.uk
If you require any of this information in a more accessible format or translated, please get in touch with us also.
Published: 24 September 2020