I’m caring for someone with a life-limiting illness

Welcome to Precious Time

The news that a loved one or friend is dying is devastating, and the decision to devote time to caring for them is momentous.

As a carer – regardless of the amount of time you spend in that role – you need help and support too. This website has advice and resources to assist, and to keep you connected to the wider community and to any specialist help you may need.

As a carer you may have a role in talking about a range of matters, that may include symptom progress, relationships, plans and beliefs, with the person for whom you are caring. Or you may need to have those conversations with others close to them or with professionals whose role is to organise things on behalf of your loved one or friend.

But where do you start? Precious Time offers advice and conversation-starters on all these topics and more, in simple, easy-to-understand terms. See here for more details.

Under the “Hubs” menu there are items that can help you discuss important topics that might be challenging to resolve such as sorting out finances, making a will, or making sure your loved one receives the treatments they want – and not the ones they don’t – if they get to a stage at which they can’t communicate.

This website can help them make those decisions, and help you to inform the people who need to know. Get started by clicking on Plan for the future or Manage your money.

Helping with exercise, social connection and making friends can help keep your loved one cared for, avoiding isolation. You’ll find some useful starters for these activities also on the “Hubs” menu, under Meet new people and Be more active.

Selecting the "Questions" menu will help you explore many topics that may be pertinent, such as where to find help in different languages, how to link in with particular communities, and how to understand and access palliative care.

But all this is just the start. There are literally hundreds of organisations and individuals listed inside Precious Time. All of them in one way or another are involved in providing care and support. To explore, select a topic within “Services” or use the search icon on the home page.

All the listings include descriptions, maps, contacts and other essential information, so you can decide easily if you want to get in touch.

These resources will make it easier for you to meet the needs and expectations of the person for whom you are caring – which should go a little way to easing your own anxiety and stress.

However, you may well need more dedicated help. Being a carer can be very tough and asking for help is important. Precious Time has a listing of organisations and services designed to provide you with much-needed support. You can find it here.

There is also a Hub with more carer-support resources, which you can find here.

Welcome to Precious Time. We’re sorry that you’ve had to come here, but we hope that we can help.