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 elsewhere 1 42% of carers are men; 58% women Around 1 million carers are children 1.2 million care for over 50 hours a week 2 13 million people can expect to become carers in the next decade 3 Carers save the government up to £119 billion a year in care costs 4 1 NHS Information Centre, UK Census HAS/The Princess Royal Trust for Carers research University of Leeds/Carers UK, 2011

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 Adverse effects on physical health Employment restrictions & financial problems Adverse effects on mental health Restriction of social activities & networks CARER CARER What are the effects of caring on carers?

Supporting Carers in General Practice  Carers have increased all cause mortality 5  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 strains 6  40% have significant stress levels 7  3 in every 4 carers are worse off financially as a result of caring 8 5 Schulz & Beach (1999) 6 National Statistics. (2003) 7 Pinquart & Sorensen (2003) 8 Carers 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)

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 CALDERDALE CARERS PROJECT A listening ear Advice on benefits Emergency back-up planning Carer support groups Information library Consultation & Engagement Case Working Activities & events Carer Small Grants Helping Hands Sessions “Looking After Me” self management courses Carers Needs Assessments Home visiting

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