Surrey: Supporting Unpaid Carers
In Surrey a widespread partnership has been raising awareness of the needs of the many local unpaid carers who informally support people looking after their relatives and friends for many years.
John Bangs, the council’s lead for carers’ issues has been slowly building the partnership since 1994. When he started few organisations were giving much thought to unpaid carers.
The partnership involves Surrey council council, all six local clinical commissioning groups (CCGs), all the local NHS acute and community trusts, the mental health trust, the ambulance service, pharmacies, GP practices, and many other local organisations.
The partnership takes a “whole systems approach to supporting carers”. They are “fostering culture change within the NHS to create a carer friendly experience”, as well as “identifying and targeting vulnerable groups of carers to ensure no carer falls between the gaps”.
Fundamental to the partnership’s philosophy is involving and listening to carers, understanding their particular and varied needs.
Quarterly meetings of NHS providers are held and a number of groups develop policy in particular areas such as a black and minority ethnic steering group, a commissioners’ group, a carers’ action group, a dementia partnership board, a continuing health group and a hospital discharge group.
ACHIEVEMENTS
The Carers’ Memo of Understanding developed by the partnership sets out an agreed approach to supporting the implementation of an integrated approach to the identification, assessment and meeting of carers’ health and wellbeing needs across Surrey. It has been signed by the council, Surrey’s health and wellbeing board, the six CCGs, the NHS trust, and Action for Carers Surrey.
Cross organisational strategies have been agreed for both adult carers and for young carers, and the partnership has spawned an extensive programme of support for carers including many for particular types of carers.
All the partners have a ‘carers’ action plan’, and many employ carers’ support officers or have appointed carers’ champions.
The voluntary organisation Action for Carers Surrey sits at the heart of the partnership, and runs a range of support activities to cater for different types of carers’ needs.
In 2014 the partnership created the ‘carers’ prescription’ an online tool that allows health staff to support carers they come into contact with by referring them to a range of services. “It takes people 2 minutes to complete. Previously some of the applications for services were 9 pages long.” Every NHS provider uses the tool, including all GP practices.
Surrey’s young carers’ forum involves youth services and education support, as well as the other bodies which are part of the overall carers’ partnership. It aims to support the estimated 14,000 local carers aged between 5 and 18.
An ever growing number of carers are being identified and helped: 25,000 have now been formally registered by GPs.
Partners are very proud of the cultural change they have achieved.
“There has been a sea change in the council and the NHS. We’ve won a lot of respect.”
And: “We have got carers into the DNA of the NHS.”
KEY LEADERSHIP ACTIONS
The interviewees highlighted a number of leadership actions as particularly contributing to the partnership’s many successes.
Building mutual trust by:
- Demonstrating a team approach
- Persuading new organisations to get involved
- Avoiding being prescriptive about the actions partners should take
Agreeing shared strategies by:
- Listening to carers
- Welcoming fresh ideas
- Taking an whole system approach
- Encouraging long term political commitment
- Evolving and developing over time
Delivering results by:
- Making things happen
- Being determined
- Learning from each other
- Monitoring and analysing activities closely
CHALLENGES
The interviewees identified very few insurmountable barriers that have prevented them from attaining their ambitions.
There were some issues about confidentially in relation to setting up the carers prescription.
Some also mentioned the frustrations caused by major organisational changes: “Every structural change sweeps away everything.”
