The average woman takes 11 years out of her working life caring for family members — children and their ageing parents.

Caring just for those family members can cost around at least $300,000, which is why, with an ageing population in Bermuda and the rest of the world, caregiving is gaining importance.

Trying to jump-start the Island's plan for dealing with these challenges in the next few years was a caregiver forum held in conjunction with the Bermuda Council on Ageing, the Ministry of Health and the Bermuda Hospitals Board this week.

As well as a public forum that was held on Wednesday between noon and 2 p.m. at the Cathedral Hall which was attended by more than 110 people, professional caregivers received two days of training from Canadian social workers visiting the Island.

Both Nancy Guberman and Lucy Barylak worked together with two others to create a Caregivers' Aspirations, Realities and Expectations (CARE) Tool.

This detailed questionnaire could be used by professional social workers, nurses or doctors who can release a patient because they no longer need medical care, but still need help.

Ms. Barylak said: "We need to sensitise them to the trouble caregivers are going through. We need to look at the ageing population and people are going to find themselves in a position.

"It's not just the care giving of the seniors, but it's also the learning disabled, the physically disabled...it's really a complex thing."

Part of the problem of releasing medically-fit, but perhaps infirm or disabled patients to their family is that it places added pressure on the family and the professional may not know of any underlying issues.

This stress added to a perhaps already bad relationship may lead to abuse, which is one area the CARE tool and the training Ms. Barylak and Ms. Guberman gave this weekend could help stop.

As Ms. Guberman put it: "She no longer needs medical help or that hospital bed so we send her home. She has a daughter? That's great we can send her home with her.

"They need to know more about your situation. Not just the needs of the person in care, but the caregiver's needs as well.

"The tool can help if you get in before it builds-up to relieve stress."

Marian Sherratt, the Executive Director of the Bermuda Council of Ageing, said the forum held on Wednesday and the two days of training had given them many ideas on how to move forward.

From more social workers for the public to call on for help to a centralised organisation that coordinated all services related to caregiving — Ms Sherratt said she would be compiling these suggestions to give to the related Minister.

She said: "We need to start looking at the whole person, the whole family and the whole continuum of care. At the end of three days we have had care workers and 110 people at the forum so by any means this has been a real success.

"We will take the recommendations to the BHB and the Ministry of Health for the next steps."