Local carers have worked with organisations on a draft strategy to help improve the lives of the 243,440 unpaid carers in Nottinghamshire and Nottingham City.

The Carers’ Strategy, which will be presented at Adult Social Care and Public Health Committee next week (14 March), details how organisations plan to better support and meet the needs of all carers over the next five years by working together to make the best use of joint resources. The organisations include Nottinghamshire County Council, Nottingham City Council, Nottingham and Nottinghamshire CCG and Bassetlaw CCG.

Following a period of consultation, carers said that their main priorities were:

  • access to short breaks or replacement care to get a break from caring
  • access to relevant and appropriate information, advice and guidance to support carers with their caring role
  • support for carer health and wellbeing (physical and mental health)
  • accessing the right support for the cared for person
  • communication; being listened to and being able to access good information.

The Carers’ Strategy was developed jointly with the Carers Panel, a group of eight carers with a broad range of caring experiences across a diverse range of health conditions, needs, age groups and social backgrounds. The Carers Panel met regularly, providing their valuable expertise and time, to discuss and shape the strategy.

Some of the aims of the strategy include:

  • better carer identification and support in local health community care settings
  • having better conversations with carers at the first point of contact to identify support options for carers and the person they care for
  • developing services which will support the whole family
  • developing carers’ breaks and support options that are more flexible, accessible and available in meeting carers’ needs and preventing carer breakdown
  • providing access to digital solutions and technology to support the carer, as well as the person they care for.

Councillor Boyd Elliott, Chairman of Adult Social Care and Public Health Committee at Nottinghamshire County Council, said: “The overall aim of the Carers’ Strategy is to help unpaid carers to get the right support they need so they can maintain their caring role whilst having a life alongside caring. This fits with the ambition in our Nottinghamshire Plan to support people to live healthier and more independent lives.

“It’s so important that carers continue to be involved in the development of this Strategy and action plan, so that we continue to hear about what is important to carers and develop support that really works for them. Carers play such a vital role and we need to ensure we are offering them the right support at the right time.”

Helene Torr, from Gedling, is a working carer for her 21 year old son. She said: “It’s important to feel valued and have the opportunity to say whether things would work for carers in reality. In the past, we been brought in at the end to ratify something. This is the first time we’ve been involved from the beginning and had our views and experiences as carers listened to and understood and it’s really refreshing.”

Once all partners have signed off the draft Strategy, it will go out for consultation and engagement on our website at https://consult.nottinghamshire.gov.uk/ until mid-May. A final Strategy, which includes action plans and commissioning intentions, will come back to Adult Social Care and Public Health Committee for approval in September 2022 before the new support offer for carers is implemented in January 2023.

For a full copy of the committee report and Carers’ Strategy visit our website.

Any carer who needs information or advice can contact the Carers Hub at www.tuvida.org/nottinghamshirehub or by phoning 0115 824 8824.

ENDS