Four ways carers told us they can be better supported

Carers play a vital role in supporting people who are frail, ill or disabled, but, in doing so, they often become vulnerable themselves. Find out four ways carers want to be better supported. Click here for Healthwatch article

New case study - how you can support carers in the workplace

In this new case study, published by NHS Employers, you can find out how Western Sussex Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust created their Colleagues as Carers forum.

This forum provides support for carers and gives them a chance to talk about and share their caring responsibilities.

How to support a depressed partner while maintaining your own mental health

There is no lightning-bolt moment when you realise you are losing your sense of  self; just an absence. When you are caring for someone you love, your wants and needs are supplanted by theirs, because what you want, more than anything, is for them to be well. Looking after a partner with mental health problems – in my case, my husband Rob, who had chronic depression – is complicated.

Mental health of young carers highlighted in study

Young carers in Scotland are more likely to suffer from mental health problems, stress and sleep disorders than their peers, a study has found. 

The research also found that a quarter of the 238 young carers who took part are caring for someone on their own. A similar proportion are looking after more than one person.

But the report also suggested young carers often have greater feelings of self-worth than their counterparts who do not have caring responsibilities.

The study is said to be the first in Scotland to compare the health of young people who have responsibility for caring for someone in their household with those who do not.

Supporting carers: mental health carers’ assessments in policy and practice

Centre for Mental Health -
This briefing outlines the challenges that mental health carers face in accessing carers’ assessments. It looks at the legal context and how the assessments work in practice.

• Briefing
• Centre for Mental Health - publications

Multimorbidity – the biggest clinical challenge facing the NHS?

In this joint blog, Dawn Moody and David Bramley argue multimorbidity is becoming the norm. They take a look at the adverse impact this can have upon individual quality of life and examine its association with higher mortality, adverse drug events and greater use unplanned care.

The recent publication of the NICE guideline on multimorbidity offers clear direction in this complex area. It uses a tailored approach to put people at the heart of decisions about their care and helps professionals and commissioners to offer their best advice and support.  Here are six practical top tips to help make the most of the guideline in clinical practice:

Dementia 2020 Citizens' Engagement Programme: Toolkit For Engaging People With Dementia And Carers

Department of Health -

This toolkit is aimed at dementia groups and networks and provides guidance and tips about facilitating discussions with people with dementia and carers effectively and sensitively.

Listening to people with dementia and their carers

The Department of Health’s listening programme will include different ways of gathering people’s views and experiences, both in person and online.

The first part of this work is an online survey for people who have been diagnosed with dementia in the past 2 years (since November 2014), and people who provide unpaid care for them. The survey, which is open until 31 January 2017, asks about people’s experiences of dementia diagnosis, support and awareness. It has been produced in consultation with people with dementia, their carers and our partner organisations.

The Role of Family Caregivers throughout the Patient Experience

A new white paper by The Beryl Institute explores the value and impact caregivers have on the broader patient experience efforts in healthcare.

Pressure Points: Carers And The NHS

This report from Carers UK found that of the 4 in 10 carers who have taken their loved one to A&E in the past 12 months believe their admission could have been prevented. Carers believed these admissions could have been prevented with more (55 per cent) or higher quality support (50 per cent) for the person they care for, more local support for them as a carer (32 per cent) or access to a district nurse (25 per cent).

Evaluation of the Care Assistant Development Programme: Learning from early implementation – SCIE evaluation report for HC-One

HC-One’s Care Assistant Development Programme (CADP) aims to develop senior carers into nursing assistants, trained up to assist with medication and care planning. The Programme enables newly-trained nursing assistants to support registered nurses and improves the quality of care provided to residents.

This report presents the findings from SCIE’s independent evaluation – commissioned by HC-One – of the early implementation of the Programme.