A carer is anyone who provided unpaid care or support to someone who has a physical or mental illness or disability or is affected by substance misuse. This could be a family member, neighbour or friend and the support can be practical or emotional.
Carers Rights Day is hosted by Carers UK annually and recognises the right of those who have a caring responsibility to receive an assessment of need and appropriate support to maintain their own health and wellbeing.
This year the theme is Caring for your Future. The key messages of Carers Rights Day 2023 are to:
Caring in Warwickshire
There are more than 52,000 people in Warwickshire who care for someone who cannot cope without their help. Caring can be particularly challenging and those with caring responsibilities often neglect their own wellbeing.
Unpaid carers face, economic and social barriers that see them at a disadvantage in many areas of their lives. Carers often face worse health and wellbeing outcomes than the general public and report on feelings of loneliness and isolation as caring becomes more intense. Many working carers, 600 each day nationally, will leave their jobs due to not being able to cope with responsibilities of caring and work. Young carers often have poorer education attainment compared to other young people which impacts on their future potential.
For these reasons, all partners are encouraged to support early recognition and intervention for those with a caring responsibility. Those who look after someone should be supported from the point of a new diagnosis, and through-out their journey as a carer, including when caring comes to an end to ensure they have good outcomes and outlook for the future.
The Care Act 2014 and the Children and Families Act 2014 gives carers the right to an assessment of need.
A Care Act 2014 assessment is a conversation of the needs of the carer, any issues the carers faces and what personal outcomes the carer would like to achieve utilising or developing their skills, networks and capabilities where possible. The council has a statutory responsibility to provide access to an assessment and support carers needs. More recently the Health and Care Act 2022 also gives carers rights to be heard, represented, and supported.
Carers may also be eligible for additional benefits such as Carers Allowance and should speak to their local Citizens Advice Bureau and/or the Carer wellbeing Service Caring Together Warwickshire. Please visit the following link for general information for carers https://www.gov.uk/browse/benefits/help-for-carers
Support for carers in Warwickshire
The All Age Carers Wellbeing service, Caring Together Warwickshire, was launched in October 2023 to support those caring for adults, parent carers caring for a child with SEND (Special Educational Needs and Disabilities) as well as young and young adult carers. This service, commissioned by Warwickshire County Council, is being provided by Carers Trust Heart of England. Carers can access, information and advice, as well as carers assessments and support with contingency planning and bespoke support. The service also provides free short-term planned and urgent breaks for adult carers should they need to leave the person they take care of for an appointment, event, or if something unexpected comes up.
We would like to encourage members, senior leaders and stakeholders to participate in the campaign in any way you can including: following and promoting on social media, raising awareness of the support available and take the free elearning carer aware (approx 40mins) and young carer aware (approx 30mins) and encourage others to do so.
For any further information or queries about this campaign please email Communications Officer, Jay Aulum jayaulumn@warwickshire.gov.uk.
For general information on the carers support available in Warwickshire visit www.warwickshire.gov.uk/carers alternatively, send any enquiries to peoplestrategyandcommissioning@warwickshire.gov.uk.