Carers and Health - policy background
Carers Assessments
The 1999 National Carers’ Strategy identified the NHS as being the single most important point of contact for many carers. It further identified some key roles for primary care staff, stating that they should:
- Identify patients who are carers and patients who have a carer;
- Check carers’ physical and emotional health wherever a suitable opportunity arises, and at least once a year;
- Inform carers routinely that they can ask Social Services for an assessment of their own need;
- Ask patients who have carers whether they are happy for health information about them to be told to their carer; and
- Signpost carers to other sources of support such as support groups and the local Carers’ Centre.
Carers have a right to an assessment of their needs – and this right has been extended by successive pieces of legislation. This assessment is undertaken by the Local Authority, and is the passport to a number of support services for carers (e.g. breaks from caring). (Carers (Recognition and Services) Act 1995, Carers and Disabled Children’s’ Act 2000, Carers (Equal Opportunities) Act 2004). Health services have a key role in ensuring carers can access these rights and services. The 2004 Act places a duty on primary care to give ‘due consideration’ to a request from Local Authorities for the planning or provision of services to carers.
Policy guidance for the 2004 Act advises that the NHS and Local Authorities develop a multi-agency strategy and ensure that agreed protocols are in place from partner organisations in providing support to carers.
National Service Frameworks - Mental Health, Long-term conditions
Carers of people with mental-ill health have rights under the National Service Framework:
“all individuals who provide regular and substantive care for a person on the Care Programme Approach should have an assessment of their caring, physical and mental health needs repeated on at least an annual basis, and have their own written care plan which is given to them and implemented in discussion with them” .
In establishing this standard on carers in the NSF for Mental Health, the Department of Health acknowledged that the implementation of the carers’ right to an assessment was:
"...patchy. Assessments are not always carried out. Some carers are offered very sensitive practical and emotional support. But others receive very little, or no help”.
Carers of people with long term conditions should have access to appropriate support and services that recognise their needs both in their role as a carer and in their own right. They are to be supported by health services, involved in the planning of care, treated as partners and receive a range of services. Staff working with carers are to receive carer awareness training.
NHS Performance Framework
Two core standards from the new performance framework for the NHS in place from April 2005 relate to carers:
a) C14 relates to systems to ensure that patients, relatives and carers have suitable and accessible information about services and complaints; and
b) C17 requires organisations to take account of the views of patients and carers in planning and delivering services
