It won’t have escaped your attention that this week is Carers Week, the national celebration of the millions of people caring for relatives and friends in families and communities throughout the country. That they often do this without making use - or being aware - of the support available to them makes their efforts even more appreciated and valued.
Many unpaid carers do not identify themselves as such – they are just doing right by family and friends. All the more reason we should honour our commitment as a sector to provide and make more visible the support available. Carers Week shines a light on this obligation and the Department of Health is delighted to be lending its support.
But it’s not just about one week of concentrated campaigning. Central government and local authorities have a duty of care - 365 days a year - to carers, those they care for and their families, all of whom may have changing and sometimes complex needs.
Central to this is the need for local health and care service providers to make sure they involve carers in both strategic and practical aspects of care and support planning. Effective care and support is as much about recognising the needs and circumstances of individual carers as it is about the people they care for – helping them to help others as well as having a life of their own.
More broadly, local authorities and service providers should:
- provide carers with information and advice helping them undertake their caring role
- maximise their health and well-being which in turn, may improve the well-being of those for whom they care
- ensure support mechanisms whereby carers can take breaks to sustain them in their caring role
With the recent launch of the Care Act consultation (see my previous blog post), it’s also timely to mention that the rights and needs of carers are woven throughout the legislation, placing them on equal legal footing with those in receipt of services for the first time. For example, greater emphasis is now placed on meeting their needs and aspirations in terms of education, training and employment.
Carers Week should also remind us what an important role the voluntary sector has to play as a valuable source of information, advice and support. Community based services often provide emotional and practical help for carers through local groups or peer networks, and can also act as hubs to signpost carers to other services.
As for more centralised support, this Department has made an additional £400 million available to NHS England between 2011 and 2015 to provide carers with breaks from their caring responsibilities. For 2015/16 the carers’ breaks funding (£130million) will be sourced from the Better Care Fund. We have also invested over £2million over the past few years in a programme of work led by sector partners including Carers UK, Carers Trust, the Royal College of General Practitioners and nursing organisations to raise awareness of carers’ support needs. A crucial part of this work involves finding ways to help people with caring responsibilities identify themselves as carers sooner.
Which brings me neatly back to Carers Week and this year’s Carers Week Quest, which aims to “encourage collaborative working in local communities to reach out to… the thousands of carers in the UK who are currently missing out on services and support.”
All the help and advice in the world is useless if we can’t reach the people it’s intended for. Carers Week is therefore a fantastic opportunity to raise awareness and help more people receive the recognition and support they deserve.
