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Many of the members attending could readily identify wth Patricia’s experiences. Lunch was held in the lecture theatre foyer. Catering was expertly provided by LGH Food Services. Open sandwiches, cheese & fruit platters, water, tea & coffee, were enjoyed by all, and in the company of new and old friends. The lucky door prizes were drawn after lunch. The main prize went to lucky Michelle Emmerton of LIPS.

The session after lunch was presented by our special guest, Brenda Anderson, who is the volunteer for the Northern Outreach Clinic for Carers Tasmania. She also gave an excellent & clear talk about the role of a carer and the assistance available for carers. She defined a carer as a person who provides regular assistance to someone with a chronic illness or disability. She advised that a Carer Allowance of $85.30 per fortnight was payable to many carers (not means tested) and that a higher Carer Payment was available to some carers (subject to income & assets). She stated that there were 16,000 primary carers in Tasmania and that over 50,000 Tasmanians provided some level of care. About 7,500 Tasmanians received a Carer Allowance & over 2,000 received a Carer Payment. The value of services provided by carers in Australia was estimated at a staggering $16 Billion per year! Brenda mentioned that Carers’ Awareness Week was starting on 21st October, two days after our meeting. She provided information packages. Copies of her overheads are available. The contact number for Carers Tasmania is 1800 242 636.

Thank you to all of you who attended, particularly those who traveled from afar. Thanks to all our special guests and to our national sponsors, OxyCare (BOC Gases) & Air Liquide Healthcare. The cost for catering was partly offset by the national sponsorship.

We plan to repeat the event in 2003, perhaps in late October, and again on a Saturday at LGH. The groups decided that Launceston was the most practical venue to permit travel from the 3 regions in Tasmania. Please pass on any requests for topics to your group leaders.

See you next year. Kathleen Burgess, Tas LungNet Co-ordinator, & James Markos

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