Define your offer to carers
Creating a defined offer for unpaid carers recognises the important role they play in supporting a person with care needs, acknowledges they may face additional barriers to accessing health services themselves (and for the person they care for), and seeks to combat the potential negative impact of caring.
Decide what your GP surgery wants to do to support carers. It can be simple. Communicate the carers offer clearly and make it accessible.
A Carers offer could include:
- Defined health support to prevent avoidable illness, including flu vaccinations, health checks, screening for anxiety and depression.
- Accessible appointments for carers and the person with care needs, so that they can attend (including double appointments, virtual appointments (telephone and video consultations), home visits for carers (if they can’t leave person being cared for)
- Emergency planning for the person with care needs in partnership with key partners.
- Sharing medical information with the carer (where appropriate and with consent) so that the person with care needs can be effectively supported.
- Enabling online proxy access (where appropriate and with consent) to improve carer digital access to medical information, consultation records, test results and improve organisation of appointments and prescriptions.
- Ensure that referrals to secondary care include information that the patient is cared for or a carer themselves.
- Referral (with consent) to wider emotional and practical support via Carers Support West Sussex.
Contact the Primary Care team
“I attend all appointments with my Mum and Dad, you would think this would flag up I am carer.”
Anonymous Carer
“It might be nice for someone [GP] to follow up with some useful links in a text.”
Anonymous Carer
“I saw a poster saying register as a carer, I asked the receptionist what this means and she said she did not know but would ask someone. Although they tried to explain they did not really know.”
Anonymous Carer
“I had to make an appointment for myself, and Mum and Dad had different appointments. It was helpful when the nurse helped make the appointments all on the same day and for Mum and Dads to be a double appointment and could be seen together.”
Anonymous Carer
“Some system flagging up carers in the practice so the receptionist could be aware that this person was having a serious problem and have appointment sooner for timely support, would be helpful.”
Anonymous Carer
Carer Focus Group
"I was caring for my two brothers (LD and Autism) at home and after one of my brothers was hospitalised due to a seizure, the doctor was the one to explain to me that I was my brother’s carer."
Anonymous Carer
"I went into a pharmacist, and they did not have the meds in stock. They said I can call around to another pharmacist. I said I was so tired and don’t know what to do. This was when the pharmacist said its ok, I will phone around, its all ok. This was what I needed some kindness that made a difference to my day."
Anonymous Carer
"I feel I don’t have time to worry about my own health as a carer. So being invited in for a check just for me would be nice."
Anonymous Carer
Carer Focus Group
“When you see someone accompany someone to an appointment, that should be your signal to ask, ‘are you this person’s carer?”