Supporting Carers: New guide for GPs published

The Princess Royal Trust for Carers in partnership with the Royal College of General Practitioners (RCGP) has published a new guide for general practitioners to help them support carers.

Supporting Carers aims to ensure carers are recognised in practices so that they and those they care for are in better health.

The guide seeks to encourage the sharing of good practice nationally and raise awareness within teams.

It has been developed with the help of Sheffield University and over twenty GP practices who have piloted and evaluated some of the resources.

GPs and are usually the first place that carers have contact with the NHS. And they are uniquely placed to recognise that someone is, or is about to become, a carer.

“The relationship between carer and GP practice is a special one and should be recognised as a partnership in care,” says Professor Nigel Sparrow, Chair of the Professional Development Board at the RCGP, in his introduction to the guide.

Carole Cochrane, Acting Chief Executive at The Trust, said: “We believe that this guide will help develop a greater understanding of carers’ issues and the support that they need within GP practices.

"This will not only raise awareness of carers, but it will also encourage knowledge-sharing and learning, all of which will help to improve further support and understanding that carers so desperately need.”

The guide is free and available to download now.

Click here to download the guide and read more about the Carers in Practice partnership