www.wiltshire.gov.uk
Advocacy for carers
Summary of Service
A carer is someone who looks after a relative, partner or a friend who cannot manage at home without help due to a disability or illness or because they are elderly or frail.
According to the 2001 census, there are 39,886 carers in Wiltshire. Around 3 in 5 people will be a carer at some point in their lives.
Carers fall broadly into 3 categories:
- Adult carers – an adult caring for another adult such as a spouse, partner, friend or relative.
- Parent carers – an adult who cares for an ill or disabled child.
- Young carers – a child or young person who is carrying out significant caring tasks and assuming a level of responsibility for another person which would usually be taken by an adult.
Details of Service
Carers are a valuable resource and their contribution to community care far exceeds the combined efforts of statutory and voluntary agencies. The continued health and well-being of carers is vital to the success of community care.
The impact of caring responsibilities on people's working lives and on their income cannot be ignored. Many carers give up work or reduce their working hours to care. Many carers in paid work report an impact on their own physical and emotional health as a result of juggling a paid job with caring.
Those carers who give up work to care face the prospect of lost earnings, and the subsequent impact on savings and pensions, as well as the loss of skills in practice and the disadvantage they might face in trying to return to work when caring ends.
Carers are also a source of important information as they are close to day to day problems and experience first hand services provided. They are therefore ideally placed to feedback vital information regarding the effectiveness and quality of existing services and suggest ways of improvement.
Carers can also challenge assumptions and raise awareness of issues facing people living and caring at home - they are therefore well placed to influence planning and policies.
Working with and listening to carers, will therefore enable all agencies to make more effective use of resources. If the services required are not provided, there may be short term savings but there will most definitely be additional expenditure in the long term.
For more information and to get in touch, please see the Carer Support Agencies page.
Contact Details
By Post
Social Care Helpdesk
Wiltshire County Council
Department of Community Services
(Adult Social Care Services)
County Hall
Trowbridge
BA14 8LE
By Email
socialcarehelpdesk@wiltshire.gov.uk
By Telephone
01225 713001
By Fax
01225 713355
| A to Z Names | Advocacy for carers, Carers - advocacy |
|---|---|
| Keywords | Advocacy for carers |
| PID No. | 162 |
| IPSV Category | Carer support |
| Level 1 Name | Advocacy for carers |
| IPSV ID | 4273 |
