Supporting family and friend carers | Supporting people when they need it in a way that works for them

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Caring can be all-consuming, leaving little time for self-care or having a life outside caring. Making it as easy as possible for family and friend carers to get support and information and advice is, therefore, vitally important. Our commissioned partner Carers Support West Sussex offers just this type of support.

Over 28,000 carers are registered with Carers Support West Sussex and during the last year they worked on a one-to-one basis, with over 10,000 carers (a 23% increase from the previous year).
471 carers have been supported via the Support at Home after Hospital service with 100% of carers saying they felt their health and wellbeing was supported because of the intervention.
Thousands of carers were kept informed and supported by expert communications. Topics included contingency planning, vaccinations and cost-of-living tips. Website usage increased by 59% from the previous year.
Over 2,000 carer assessments were completed.
Over 200 different carers groups/events were held last year to connect and support carers. The groups benefitted 860 carers.
Since April 2021 a new Carer Welfare Benefits Service funded by the County Council advised on £3 million in additional annual income for carers.
1,400 carers were allocated equipment to support their caring role. (35% increase from the previous year)
1,300 Carer Emergency Contact Cards were distributed to registered carers last year. These combine a carer contingency plan and discount offers for carers. This is an increase of 700 from the previous year.

For more information visit: www.carerssupport.org.uk or phone on 0300 028 8888

Looking ahead and what’s happening now

A project to support West Sussex GP practices to better identify carers and to adopt carer ‘quality markers’ will help to make the experience of going to the GP much better for many carers.

Carers Health Team

A team of health professionals employed by Sussex Community NHS Foundation Trust work on a one-to-one basis with family and friend carers whose health is beginning to suffer as a result of their caring responsibilities. The team has been recognised by the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) as an excellent example of effective carer support.

1,577 mainly older carers benefitted from the work of the team last year.

To find out more: Tel. 01243 623521 or email ssc-tr.carerwellbeing@nhs.net

Specialist support for young carers and their families (aged up to 18 years)

This specialist support is provided by our Young Carers Family Team. The team use a ‘whole-family’ approach and work to ensure that young carers do not undertake inappropriate or excessive caring roles and that they have the best possible opportunities, in terms of education, career prospects, friendships and relationships. The team carries out assessments and transition assessments as the young carers approach adulthood.

Staff work in partnership with Your Space Therapies to provide different therapies to young carers in a school setting, with Equine Partners to provide one-to-one or family based therapy, and with Carers Support West Sussex to provide young carer discount cards and monthly groups for young adult carers aged 16 -19 years.

The team delivers face-to-face ‘positive activity days’ for 8-11 year olds during school holidays and is planning a new programme of regular in-person and online activities for 11-16 year olds.

Demand remains high with over 700 requests for our service in 2022-2023.

Looking ahead and what's happening now

Young carers are now included in the School Census. From Spring 2023, young carers have been included on the annual school census return. This will enable a much clearer picture of the number of young carers in schools as well as provide opportunities to use this data to monitor the attendance and attainment of young carers and to offer support as necessary.
A ‘Working with Young Carers and their Families’ e-learning course is now available to all professionals and volunteers. This course raises awareness of the legal rights of young carers, how to identify and support them and signpost them and their families for additional specialist help where needed.
A new regular face-to-face group programme for 11-16 year olds will be launched in January 2024.

For more information please visit the Young Carers website and our Facebook page www.facebook.com/wsycarers/

Last updated: 31 January 2024

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