We organise a diverse range of events for our Staff Carers' Network members as well as the wider UCC audience. These include seminars, workshops and networking events, as well as coffee mornings.
Our Aim is to meet once a month/a quarter using both teams and in person. Keep an eye on All Staff emails as we normally email out to all staff in advance of a meeting. We will supply a teams link also to that meeting so anyone can join.
We plan to include guest speakers at some of these events, offering presentations on current challenges faced by caregivers in UCC. Additionally, a simple cup of tea and conversation can be greatly beneficial.
Launch of The Staff Carers' Network
We were honored to have President of UCC, Professor John O'Halloran, officially launch a dedicated staff carers network 17 October 2024.
Both the 2022 and 2024 Staff Values and Culture survey gave a clear indication of the need for increased support, across the university, for staff who are carers. Two-thirds of all respondents in the staff surveys reported having a caring responsibility, of which approximately 20% had non-parental caring duties such as elder care or caring for a relative with disabilities or ongoing illness. The need to address this in a substantive way by the university is clear, and this network will help with supporting and advancing the needs of carers.
Who cares for carers?
The mnemonic for UCC values as set out in our Strategic Plan is CAIRDEAS, which is the Irish for friendship, and we came together last week in that spirit to launch our fifth staff Network – the UCC Staff Carers’ Network. The subject of the launch was ‘who cares for the carers?’
Many people in this university, staff and students, have been, are, or will be carers during their lifetime. And many of us will be cared for by others. In an ideal world, carers would not care in isolation but would have community support. UCC is a community, and we hope that this network will provide support and shape the university into a more caring space.
During the event, the work of colleagues such as Pat Rice and Rachel MagShamhráin, who have been at the forefront this work and advocating for carers in UCC since 2019, was recognised. The invaluable support given to this early engagement by our late colleague, Professor Chris Williams was also highlighted. Chris, in his position as Head of CACSSS, was incredibly and immediately understanding of an issue which back in 2019 was not on the broader radar.
Pictured l-r: Peter Cox, Trish Bourke, President John O’Halloran, Dr Avril Hutch and Pat Rice