Ensure all staff are carer aware
- Who are carers and the different types of caring experiences
- What things to look out for to help identify carers
- How the GP surgery, carers and the person with care needs can benefit from early carer identification and support
- What support your GP surgery offers to carers
- How carers can access support from your surgery and Carers Support West Sussex
- What support employees who are carers can receive (HR Carers Policy).
Some professionals can feel unsure about how to approach carers or a caring situation sensitively. Ensure practice staff are confident in engaging with patients who are carers, including young carers, young adult carers and their families.
Develop and communicate a Carers protocol so that all staff know how to identify carers and what to do once they have identified a carer.
- View our carer learning set “Introduction to Carer Awareness” training. Training aim: build confidence in identifying carers, speaking with potential carers and understanding how to support them here.
- Book West Sussex County Council free young carer online training for all professionals and volunteers working with young people. The aim of this module is to support you in developing a knowledge and an awareness of how to identify that a child may be a young carer and the impact that this caring role can have on them, and enable you to support them and their families effectively. It will enable you to gain an understanding of the work of the Young Carers Family Service and how you can access further support and guidance.
- Book a Discovery meeting with the Primary Care Engagement Team. Aim: Review how you are currently identifying and supporting carers and consider how we could support you to implement Carer Friendly Practice. Contact the Primary Care Team to register your interest here.
- Incorporate carer awareness into mandatory training for all new staff. Find the training here.
Dr Shona - A GP at Ball Tree Surgery, discusses the importance of carer awareness and a whole practice approach to identifying and supporting carers.
Gemma Early – Practice Manager at Petworth Surgery discusses how important it is to nominate a carer lead, train staff and establish a Carers Offer, including in surgery support for carers.
Teresa Kneller – Receptionist at Witterings Medical Practice talks about how she helps to identify and support carers, including building a rapport with patients, coding them on the system and adding a flag to their notes so they can access extra support.
Tara Davis-West – Carer Lead at Selsey Medical Practice talks about the carers a register and how she telephones carers identified in the surgery and chats through their caring role with them and how they can be supported, including signposting to Carers Support West Sussex.
Contact the Primary Care team
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?”