Recognising the vital work of carers - Carers Week

Think Local Act Personal (TLAP) welcomes Carers Week as an opportunity to reflect and recognise the vital work of carers and how we can support them. New research published this week from the Carers Week Partnership shows carers are "being woefully let down by a lack of support when they first take on a caring role".

Prepared to Care?, which gathered the views of over 2000 carers, found that 81% of carers said they were not aware of the support available and 35% believed they were given the wrong advice about the support on offer.

In May, TLAP launched Making it Real for Carers; Making it Real organisations mark their progress towards personalisation and publicly share their priorities and plans for action. Most importantly, these plans are developed with the full involvement of the people who use their services and carers. Making it Real for Carers looked at what each Making it Real theme means to carers and what this might look like in practice. It was co-produced with carers, meaning that carers led the issues raised, the approaches suggested and words used.

Making it Real is grouped into six themes, including what good information and advice looks like. Many of the challenges raised by carers echo the findings of Prepared to Care?. Carers emphasise the need for clear, consistent, coordinated information that is easy to access, and that information is a two-way process. As one carer who took part said:

"If I am going to be in control as a carer, I need information about the choices available to me".

The carers identified nine main practice points including the need for face to face contact, emotional support and fully informed staff. The guide also highlights evidence of good practice and includes Durham County Council's provision of accessible online information.

Dr Moira Fraser, Director of Policy and Research at Carers Trust, a key partner in Making it Real for Carers, says:
" We think this project will help organisations work with carers in a new way and to think about how they are making personalisation real. We are hopeful they will develop their own plans for taking Making It Real forward."

Think Local Act Personal co-chair Clenton Farquharson and key contributor to Making it Real's development, says:
"Making it Real builds links between professionals, service providers and the community, it does this by helping people in coming together and co-operating to find a new way of doing things"

ADASS President Sandie Keene, who sits on the TLAP Board as lead for Making it Real, says:
"Making it Real starts a new kind of conversation, it will continue to help us shift the way we coordinate and commission care so it is more transparent and accountable to what people say they really need and want."