Carers

Carers and support services

The person you look after maybe a member of your family, a neighbour, or a friend. Some carers live with the person they care for and may spend many hours of the day caring. Others drop in on someone to make sure everything is okay or to bring them a meal or run errands for them.

Support services may be available to help with practical things like dressing and cooking adaptations to the home, respite care, day-care provision etc. You may also have support to take a break, look at returning to work or cutting down your working hours to enable you to continue caring.

NHS Highland recognises the essential role that carers play. Carers have huge expertise in relation to the person they care for and our staff want to work in partnership with you, supporting you in your caring role.

Many of the services and support systems for carers are delivered through partnerships with voluntary organisations and with our two local authority partners.

Read about the Carer's Wellbeing Fund.

Carers Strategy for Highland

We are co-producing a new Carers Strategy for Highland so that the available resources meet our statutory duties are used in a way which reflects the needs and priorities of our unpaid carers.

We want the development of our strategy to promote:

• the voice of carers, so that it shapes policy and practice and the culture of decision-making across Highland
• the open sharing of information

And we want our strategy to address itself to:

• meeting the rights of carers
• providing carers with access to timely support, help and advice - in a way which helps them cope
• developing the choice and control of carers in shaping the support they need
• promoting positive attitudes towards unpaid carers within statutory bodies, employers and wider society - and that the role of the unpaid carer is properly valued

View a Sway presentation on Progressing a new carers strategy for Highland.

Unpaid carers podcast

Listen to an unpaid carers podcast from NHS Highland (via Facebook, November 2021).

November 25th 2021 was Carers Rights Day, about raising awareness of carers' rights and entitlements, to help carers get the support they need.

The podcast was developed by Jennifer Campbell (Carer Services Development Officer) and Shannon Skinner (Carer Practice Support Officer) to help raise the awareness of our unpaid carers.

Local carer organisations

Connecting Carers

Find out more about Connecting Carers.

If you are under 16, you are a young carer. Connecting Carers ensures that young carers are seen, heard and supported.

Other local organisations

• Befrienders Highland - offers telephone, letter or email befriending, for adult unpaid carers.
• Creativity in Care (Facebook) - offer creative learning programmes, workshops and exhibitions to help improve the quality of life in care and in the community for carers and people who access services.
• Thriving Families - children in the Highlands Information Point Plus is a Highland-wide charity providing information, advice and support to families with children with additional support needs, and the professionals who work with them.
• Highland Senior Citizens Network - successfully campaigning on issues that impact senior citizens for almost 25 years.

National carer organisations

• Care Inspectorate - Inquiry into adult carers’ experiences of social work and social care services - view the report here (pdf)
• Carer Voices - works to promote the carer voice and person-centred care through its engagement with the health and social care workforce.
• Carers Scotland - working as part of Carers UK and are there to offer advice and support to and about carers. Details on legislation pertinent to carers is available on their website including: The Carers (Scotland) Act 2016 came into force on the 1st April 2018. The Act provides new rights to carers in a number of areas. These include: a duty for local authorities to provide support to carers, based on the carer’s identified needs which meet the local eligibility criteria
• Shared Care Scotland - operates as a non-profit organisation. The organisation offers short break and respite services for people with support and caring responsibilities. Shared Care Scotland serves communities in the United Kingdom.
  • Improving variety and choice in short breaks: 2022-23 funding and support programme - learning report (pdf, November 2023)
• Coalition of Carers in Scotland - exists to advance the voice of carers by facilitating carer engagement and bringing carers and local carer organisations together with decision makers at a national and local level.

Local policies

• Highland Carers Strategy 2020-23 (pdf, April 2022) - we have attempted to keep the details of the strategy straightforward and understandable with the main contents comprising four elements.
• Local Eligibility Criteria for Adult Carers (pdf, November 2020)
• Carers Pathway (pdf) - the Carers Pathway will clearly set out what an unpaid carer can expect in Highland.
• Highland Carers Strategy Development Project - Carers Survey 2020 - Summary Report (pdf, November 2020)
• Evaluation Report - Self-directed Support Option 1 for Carers - Short Break Opportunities (pdf, April 2022)
• Highland Carers Strategy - Implementation Plan (pdf, July 2022)

Highland Partnership short break statement

The Highland Partnership short break statement (pdf, September 2020) was developed collaboratively by NHS Highland, The Highland Council, and carer organisations. It outlines what carers can expect to be available locally and how such services can be accessed, as well as links to services available across Scotland.

A short break is anything which allows an individual of any age to have some time and space away from their day to day routines and their responsibilities.

Legislation

• Carers Charter - the Act extends and enhances the rights of carers in Scotland to help improve their health and wellbeing, so that they can continue to care, if they so wish, and have a life alongside caring. As required by section 36 of the Act the Scottish Ministers have prepared this Carers' charter, setting out the rights of carers in or under the Act.
• Carers (Scotland) Act 2016 - an Act of the Scottish Parliament to make provision about carers, including the identification of carers' needs for support through adult carer support plans and young carer statements.
• Unpaid carer’s leave - employees are entitled to unpaid leave to give or arrange care for a dependant.