Raising the voice of our unpaid carers
With over 5million people in the UK providing unpaid care duties for their loved ones, are health services doing enough to hear their voices?
This was the issue thrown under the spotlight in our most recent health inequalities event, which brought together the voices of people who have experience of caring for loved ones as well as professionals from Carers UK and NHS England.
We heard some moving stories, but also had the opportunity to access valuable tools and resources - such as information about the newly developed Carers and Hospital Discharge Toolkit.
If you weren’t able to join us on the night, the recording and slides are available here, alongside information about the other events we run in partnership with our host organisation, The Advocacy Project.
During the event, we focussed on the challenges that carers can have when the person they care from is discharged from hospital. We heard how important it is for health professionals to listen to unpaid carers, and include them in decision-making. Our speakers also told us about the distress it can cause when carers are left out of the process.
Are you a carer? We are currently collecting information about the experiences of carers in Brent, to help inform future work on this topic. You can share feedback about your experiences here, or by emailing info@healthwatchbrent.co.uk
There are lots of resources available to help carers. We have produced some information pages to help you find relevant support and information:
If you would like any more information related to your health and social care rights or access to services, please contact the Healthwatch Brent team.
