Carers Rights Day – 25 November 2021

Carers Rights Day was introduced by Carers UK to draw attention to the multiple rights that unpaid carers are entitled to and to raise awareness of the services and support that makes such a difference.

Carers want recognition, support, and equality

In a recent nationwide survey, Carers UK found that the most important things to carers are recognition, particularly by professionals, support, and equality.  Most carers’ mental and physical well-being is affected by caring but, with so many support services having to be withdrawn because of Covid, the last 18 months have been particularly hard.

During the pandemic four in five carers had their caring responsibilities increased, 78% said the needs of those they cared for had increased, and two out of three were worried about how they would manage during the next year, including financially.

What rights do unpaid carers have?

Carers have the following rights:

• to request to be identified as a carer
• to have a carers assessment, separate from the assessment of the person/people they care for
• to be consulted on hospital discharge for the person they care for
• to be protected from discrimination
• to request a free flu jab; and
• to request flexible working.

The value of unpaid carers

Bearing in mind that carers nationwide save the statutory services about £193 billion, mostly willingly, there is a very good case for them to be recognised, supported, and treated equally.

Support for carers in Somerset

In Somerset, there are several services and initiatives to help support carers, including the following.

Somerset Carers Service:  This is run by the Community Council for Somerset on behalf of Somerset County Council.  Their network of Village Agents across Somerset supports carers in their communities.  They also run carers support groups, both face to face and online, in partnership with Spark Somerset.  Phone: 0800 31 68 600, or text ‘Carer’ to: 78070.

Somerset NHS Foundation Trust Carers Service:  Provides support for people caring for someone with a mental health condition.  Find out more online or email: Carers@somersetft.nhs.uk.

Carers UK:  Provides a range of support for carers on the phone and online, including a 24/7 online forum, a regular ‘Care for a Cuppa’, access to the latest information on benefits, and fact sheets and leaflets full of useful information. Call their helpline: 0808  808  7777 or find out more online.

Healthwatch Somerset’s support for carers

The Healthwatch Somerset team has a good understanding of the challenges carers experience in their lives, and of the difference made by the people and services that provide support.

Healthwatch Somerset supports the Carers Strategic Partnership Board in Somerset. We gather feedback from people, including those with caring responsibilities, about their experiences of health and care services, and we can help them find the support they need.  Several of our team have caring roles in our own lives, we are members of different carers groups, and we volunteer with them too, for example Re-engage and Somerset Sight.