Transcript Carers Presentation

Supporting people with
caring responsibilities
Dr Nicky Williams – CCG Vice Chair
Jacqui Bunce – Associate Director
National and local policies
Hertfordshire Carers Strategy
Carers should be supported to :
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Carry on caring if they want to
Work if they want to
Have a life outside caring
Stay fit and healthy and be safe
Access full benefit entitlements
Get good quality information when they need it
Feel respected as carers, as partners in care
Young carers should be able to achieve their full potential
in education
Health and Wellbeing strategy
We will:
• Support carers to deliver their role in the community
• Co-ordinate services to support carers
• Treat carers with respect and as partners in care
• Support carers in their roles, with appropriate interventions
• Provide a ‘no wrong door’ approach - all services proactively
identifying and signposting carers appropriately
• Encourage schools to identify and support young carers
• Help employers to identify and support carer employees
to balance their caring role and their job
The Facts
108,615 carers living in Hertfordshire
- 9.8% of the population (2011 census)
Carers are:
More likely to
be women
than men
More likely to
have health
problems than
those who do
not have
a caring
responsibility
Likely to be
aged between
50-64.
Level of care
increases with
age
Most likely to be
looking after
someone with a
physical disability
(27%), problems
connected with
ageing (22%) or
sight or hearing
loss (14%)
Carer Feedback
27% of carers had sought advice in the previous 12 months
but had found it fairly or very difficult to find
16%
Only
felt that social care services fully understood
the impact of caring on their lives
20% of carers felt that HCS had helped them plan for an
emergency in case they were ever temporarily unable to care
Carers said that they wanted:
• Robust contingency planning
• Rapid response services readily available to assist with
unpredictable or emergency situations (including through the
provision of equipment and extra care)
• Emotional and mental wellbeing to be considered as part of
the assessment process
• Support for carers to undertake social activities
• Services such as Respite Care, Carer Breaks, Telecare were
regarded as valuable.
What has been happening?
• Commissioning services with Carers In Herts and Crossroads
• Roll out of ‘carer friendly communities’
• Carer friendly hospital – The Lister in Stevenage
• Carers’ champions project in GP Practices
• Crossroads supporting HomeFirst in Lower Lea Valley
• Web-based support tool for GPs will launch in October
Discussion
• What other challenges affect carers that we
could tackle through the services we
commission?
• What more could be done to support carers
– through GP practices?
– in the wider health system?