Supporting Carers in
General Practice
Dr Beth Rimmer – GP Champion for Carers Yorkshire
Louella Ramsden – Operations Manager,
Calderdale Carers Project, Halifax
Lynn Ward – Chief Officer, Calderdale Carers Project
Sue Walmsley – Calderdale Young Carers
Supporting Carers in General Practice
Questions to answer:
• Who are carers?
• What problems do carers face?
• How can practices better identify and
support carers?
Supporting Carers in General Practice
Who are carers?
“ Every day 6,000 people take on
new caring responsibilities ”
Supporting Carers in General Practice
A carer is a person of any age,
adult or child, who provides
unpaid support to a partner, child,
relative or friend who couldn’t
manage to live independently or
whose health or wellbeing would
deteriorate without this help.
This could be due to frailty,
disability or serious health
condition, mental ill health or
substance abuse.
Supporting Carers in General Practice
How many carers are there in your
practice population?
2001 Census data shows about
1 in 10 people have carer
responsibilities
Is anyone here a carer or been a carer?
Supporting Carers in General Practice
2 to be
caring for at
least 50
hours/week
3 or 4 to be caring for more
than 20 hours/week
Amongst every 100 patients on your list
you would expect 10 to be carers
Supporting Carers in General Practice
Key Facts:
• 12% of people are carers: 6% care for someone living in the same
home and 6% care for someone living elsewhere1
• 42% of carers are men; 58% women
• Around 1 million carers are children
• 1.2 million care for over 50 hours a week2
• 13 million people can expect to become carers in the next decade3
• Carers save the government up to £119 billion a year in care costs4
1
NHS Information Centre, 2011
4 University
2 UK
of Leeds/Carers UK, 2011
Census 2001
3
HAS/The Princess Royal Trust for Carers research 2001
Supporting Carers in General Practice
What problems do carers face?
Group activity: in small groups using the
case studies think about the problems
faced by carers
Supporting Carers in General Practice
What are the effects of caring on carers?
Caring can be very rewarding but...
Supporting Carers in General Practice
What are the effects of caring on carers?
Adverse effects on
physical health
Adverse effects on
mental health
CARER
Employment
restrictions &
financial problems
Restriction of
social activities &
networks
Supporting Carers in General Practice
 Carers have increased all cause
mortality5
 Of carers caring for >50 hours a week:
 1 in 3 report depression
 1 in 2 report disturbed sleep
 1 in 4 report back and other strains6
 40% have significant stress levels7
 3 in every 4 carers are worse off
financially as a result of caring8
•5 Schulz & Beach (1999)
•6 National Statistics. (2003)
•7 Pinquart & Sorensen (2003)
•8Carers UK (2007)
Supporting Carers in General Practice
Carers neglect their own health
Possible reasons include:
 Being unable to leave the home for
appointments

Fear of no longer being allowed to
care
 Inability to undergo treatment due to
caring responsibilities

Focus on the cared-for’s health
needs and neglect their own
Supporting Carers in General Practice
What about young carers?
A young carer is under the age of 18,
carries out significant caring tasks
and assumes a level of
responsibility for another person
that is inappropriate for his or her
age.
Problems:
Stress, tiredness and mental ill-health
Traumatic life events
Underachievement at school
Bullying, self-harm
Social isolation
Supporting Carers in General Practice
Most young carers receive no help
during their childhoods due to:
Lack of recognition of the
child’s caring role
Fear of being bullied
Families being wary of
services
Supporting Carers in General Practice
Calderdale Young Carers
Sue Walmsley
Supporting Carers in General Practice
Local facts & figures about Carers in
Calderdale
Louella Ramsden – Operations Manager,
Calderdale Carers Project, Halifax
Supporting Carers in General Practice
Tea Break
Supporting Carers in General Practice
What is our role in primary care?
QOF Management 9 :
• Carer register
• Referral for carers assessment
Supporting Carers in General Practice
Why is support of Carers important?
Early identification & support of carers helps prevent future
problems.
• Improves carers’ own health
• Better support of carers enables them to care better
and longer
• Helps prevent breakdown of the care situation and
emergency admission of the cared for person
Supporting Carers in General Practice
Challenges for practices:
• How can we improve identification of
carers?
• How can we look after carers better?
Supporting Carers in General Practice
Better identification of carers :
•
•
•
•
•
•
New patient questionnaire
Chronic Disease templates
Notices in waiting room, patient newsletter, on
RHS prescriptions, website
Involve whole practice team – DNs, PNs etc
? Carer lead
Coding! Remember to remove as well as add
carers!
Supporting Carers in General Practice
How can Primary Care support carers
better?
Priority issues for Carers
(Data from Harrogate & Craven Carers’ Resource – Top 10 needs of 2360 carers
supported in general practices in Airedale)
Listening/emotional support
Health of person cared for
Personalised information
Benefits
Health of carer
Holidays
Other professional
Finance
Personal care
Time off
0%
20%
40%
60%
80%
100%
Supporting Carers in General Practice
How can Primary Care support carers
better?
•
•
•
•
Recognise their role
Carer health checks – physical & mental
health, flu jabs
Flexibility of appointments
Involving carers as partners in care of the
cared for person – confidentiality issues
Supporting Carers in General Practice
How can Primary Care support carers
better?
•
•
•
•
Signposting to Carer Support Services
Emergency planning
Carer lead in the practice
Practice Carer Group
Supporting Carers in General Practice
The Calderdale Carers Project
Louella Ramsden, Operations Manager
Supporting Carers in General Practice
A listening
ear
Carers Needs
Assessments
Home
visiting
Carer support
groups
Advice on
benefits
Carer
Small
Grants
Information
library
CALDERDALE CARERS
PROJECT - 01422 369101
Helping Hands Sessions
Activities & events
Consultation &
Engagement
Emergency
back-up
planning
“Looking After Me”
self management
courses
Case
Working
Supporting Carers in General Practice
Cases for the Team?
Supporting Carers in General Practice
Any questions?
Supporting Carers in General Practice
5 key messages:
• Just listen!
• Think of depression
• Ask about finances
• Signpost to services
• Plan for emergencies
Supporting Carers in General Practice
Thank you
Supporting Carers in General Practice
• file:///C:/Users/Fennerty/Documents/Beth/
Carer%20Champions/watch.htm