GP practice teams have been developing ways of proactively identifying carers in the Stroud and Berkeley Vale area in order to offer them tailored help and support.

Following a pilot project, around 1,000 new carers were identified across GP practices over an 18-month period after census data flagged up a lower than expected number of people who identified themselves as carers in the Stroud district.

In the Stroud and Berkeley Vale locality a high number of carers have frailty or care for people who have frailty so reaching out to them proactively means support can be built around their needs.

The project is a partnership including Gloucestershire Carers Hub – the locally commissioned service which supports unpaid carers throughout the county providing a person-centred approach to carers who register or are referred.

Registering gives an unpaid carer access to free information, guidance and support, to empower them in their caring role. It can also help them meet other carers and to interact with others in a safe space if they want.

Ben Williams-Shaw, Locality Manager for Stroud and Berkeley Vale Integrated Locality Partnership (ILP)/Localities at NHS Gloucestershire said: “The project has enabled us to see what help is needed where in the area.

Carers have been consulted with and listened to about the type of help they would like and they have fed back to us that this consultation process feels very empowering for them.

We understand through working with the Carers Hub and talking to carers that isolation is a big theme for many unpaid carers and some carers don’t recognise that they are carers so there’s a lot of work yet to be done and this is a good starting point.”

Working in collaboration with the Carers Hub, two text messages were designed specifically for carers in the locality. One message was to reach out to unknown carers and the second subsequent message was to support  carers and newly identified carers.

People were sent support information to coincide with Carers Week – a national campaign to raise awareness of caring, highlight the challenges unpaid carers face and recognise the contribution they make to families and communities.

Carers shared their positive feedback with the Carers Hub saying they were grateful to have been considered by GP practices and proactively contacted.

Through the project, carers have been directed to strength & balance/strength-based maintenance activity and groups in the local community many led by Stroud District Council

The uptake of current carer and frailty-related help has increased and individuals have been encouraged to increase physical activity and stay fit and well for longer.

It has also raised awareness of support available locally from voluntary, community and social enterprise sector (VCSE) organisations.

A spokesperson for the Carers Hub said: “What’s been so valuable about this project is that it’s been a bespoke approach, and we’ve listened to carers about what matters to them.

Carers often prioritise the needs of those they support, so this approach has enabled us to support them to refocus on the importance of their own wellbeing. Having such positive feedback has been reassuring for us.”

Notes:

Find out more about Gloucestershire Carers Hub here: https://peopleplus.co.uk/gloucestershire-carers-hub