Thanks for the claps — but we need more meaningful support

CARERS across Portsmouth are calling for more meaningful support one year on from the Clap for Carers events during the first national lockdown.

The first nationwide public display of appreciation for key workers took place on March 26, 2020.

But a year later, carers say they feel forgotten — and report that some shops don’t even honour their participation in the Blue Light discount card scheme.

The Blue Light Card offers discounts across a range of shops for emergency service and social care workers, but carers with a card are often overlooked, according to the manager of a Portsmouth care home.

Charisma Williams, the manager of Oakland Grange Residential Care Home in Merton Road, said: 'The Blue Light card feels like it’s only for the NHS.

‘If you go to the shops, they will ask for an NHS ID and they say, “no, it’s only for NHS nurses”.

'They should give the discount for carers – there should be more consistency.

‘It feels like people have forgotten about Clap for Carers.’

While Clap for Carers was not affiliated with the Blue Light scheme or any other wider campaign, the public display sparked a wider discussion about the value placed on those in the care sector.

Without further action to support those on the frontline one year on, the weekly events seem almost ‘insulting’, according to Lorraine Hedges, who supports elderly people in their homes across Southsea.

The carer said: 'Everybody just forgot about it.’

Regarding discounts for carers, she added: ‘Some shops offered a discount for a bit at the start of the pandemic but it just stopped.

‘It would be a nice gesture if this happened again. It would make a difference.’

Laura Egan, who works with 30 older people in their homes across the city, said more shops offering discounts would be a meaningful way to acknowledge those on the front line of a ‘bleak’ fight.

She said: ‘To be honest I was like everybody else when the first lockdown was announced – I didn't realise how bad it would become.

‘I think it was just before Christmas, before this lockdown, things felt very bleak.

‘My mental health was really deteriorating.

‘I was just a mess. It was a really rubbish time.’