The UK’s six million carers provide unpaid care and support to relatives and friends that are ill, frail or disabled. Often they don’t see themselves as carers. However, carers’ charities and the government have been keen to define the role to ensure the right people access the right support, benefits and services. Carers come into contact with a wide variety of other people. If you become a carer, here are some of the people that you will come into contact with.
The person being cared for
The person you care for will be central to your life. You may have suddenly become a carer for this person through accident or illness. Alternatively, their health and abilities may have been deteriorating for a while, meaning they now depend on you more. This person can be anyone that has a mental, learning or physical disability or a debilitating illness.
Friends and family
Carers can quickly become isolated in their role as they reduce their work and other commitments to concentrate on looking after their relative or friend. Sharing your experience can help you ensure this doesn't happen to you carer. Friends and family can offer a listening ear or run errands, such as shopping, that might be difficult for carers to do themselves.
Advice workers
Advice workers carry out many roles and work for a number of different organisations such as the Citizens Advice Bureau, legal centres and carers’ organisations. They can make telephone calls and write letters for you and some have advocacy skills so they can speak on your behalf at meetings. Which type of advice worker you require will depend on your specific needs.
“Every time you have a problem understanding what your rights as a carer are, you can get advice,” says Jean French, the advice and information manager for Carers UK. “Information is great, but if something goes wrong, you need more detailed and personal help.
“Employment, assessments, benefits and respite care are recurring issues for many carers”, she says.
At work you might want to establish flexible working but find it difficult to approach your employer. In this case, a trade union representative might support you in negotiating different hours of employment.
Putting across your issues during a carer’s assessment or a community care assessment might also present some challenges. Your local carers organisation would be the best place to find someone who can understand your needs and help you communicate them.
You might have to go to a tribunal to appeal a decision made about the benefits received by you or the person you care for. A worker from an advice agency might be the best person to represent you.
If you have never or rarely had a holiday from caring (and can't afford to pay for one), a carer’s assessment through social services may be a way to access respite care. To pay for a break you should talk to an advice centre, which can tell you how to get a grant to pay for a break.
Social workers
Letting your local social services department know that you're a carer is a priority. Social services offers a number of services for carers, and staff need to know about the person you care for. You can call direct or be referred by your GP. A social worker can then assess your needs as a carer. A carer’s assessment can lead to respite care, help with adaptations and aids around the home, and emergency contacts. Through the direct payments scheme, you or your relative can also get money to pay directly for the services you need.
Support workers operate alongside social workers. Co-workers have language, social and cultural skills relevant to different ethnic groups and they work with social workers and other agencies to attend assessments for individuals or families.
A co-worker can help a social worker to become aware of cultural difficulties. Pratibha Chohan, from the bilingual co-worker scheme for Tameside Social Services says: "A service may not be appropriate for that individual. For example, someone may prefer to use a bucket bath rather than a bath or a shower." A co-worker can help the social worker to become aware of cultural differences.
Personal assistant
A personal assistant might be employed by social services to help with caring work in the home or to provide additional services in work or education for the person you care for. Or you might recruit a personal assistant yourself. You can get advice on this through social services or the National Centre for Independent Living (see External links).
Home help
People that come into the home to perform practical jobs such as cooking or personal care can be arranged through social services following a community care assessment. If the person you look after has sufficient funds to pay for the full cost of a home help, you can set up this support yourself. The charity Crossroads also provides home helps.
Department for Work and Pensions decision maker
Although you may not have face-to-face contact with this person, the decision they make about your entitlement to benefits will affect your life and your finances. They can also help you to find out what you might be entitled to.
Once you're receiving the relevant benefits, you may find you're entitled to other help such as council tax reductions or help with prescriptions (see External links).
Doctors and nurses
Being a carer can put a strain on your own mental, physical and emotional health. Letting your GP know you're a carer and asking for regular health checks can help. You can also talk to them about any concerns you have about your role and its effect on your health. They will be able to tell you about or refer you on to other services that might help you, such as counselling.
You may also see a senior doctor in hospital with or on behalf of the person you care for, or for your own health needs. Make sure the doctor knows you're a carer as the nature of your caring role could influence what advice, treatment and services are offered. For example, if you're referred to a specialist following a back injury caused by lifting and handling your relative, the specialist may provide training in lifting techniques. This would help you to perform your caring role more safely and effectively in the future.
You will come into contact with different nurses for both your relative's and your own health needs. This could be a community psychiatric nurse, if your relative has a mental illness, or a practice nurse that you see regularly at your general practice for inoculation and screening for your relative or yourself.
Specialist health services
These include any additional services for the person you're caring for or yourself (for example physiotherapy or speech and language therapists). Counsellors and alternative health practitioners also sometimes provide support and relaxation, and can give you a break from caring. Often your GP can refer you or has contacts.
Others
Other carers can be an enormous source of support for you. You can meet them at carers’ centres, disability forums or through other organisations. These are people who could have experienced similar circumstances to you, and understand what it's like being a carer. Watch the video below to see how two carers were helped by their local carers' support group.
Teachers and tutors can provide learning opportunities that take you away from your caring role and give you a personal sense of worth. Carers UK has information on learning opportunities.
