Crucial vision for helping unpaid adult carers to be discussed
A vital blueprint for improving life for adult carers and those they care for in Lancashire is set to be considered.
Lancashire County Council's new Carers' Strategy is a crucial vision for improving the lives of adult unpaid carers across the region and will be discussed by the council's cabinet when it meets on December 7.
A carer is defined as someone who cares on an unpaid basis for a friend, relative, neighbour or loved one who may be experiencing the impact of ageing, illness, disability, mental health issues, substance misuse or other issues that affect their ability to cope day to day without support.
The council's proposed new Carers' Strategy, written after its commissioning team went out and spoke directly with carers across the county, will see it joining forces with the Lancashire and South Cumbria Integrated Care Board (ICB) and other partners to plan new services for carers.
This will identify carers as early as possible, prioritise their health, wellbeing and independence and make it much easier and simpler for them to get help and get their voices heard.
It will also mean crucial services like advice, information, assessments, short breaks, emergency care and support will be revamped to meet the needs of communities and neighbours.
County Councillor Graham Gooch, cabinet member for Adult Social Care, said: "Across the country, millions of people provide unpaid care for an ill, older, or disabled family member or friend. The number of unpaid carers is increasing as our population ages and all these carers play a vital role in keeping loved ones safe and independent at home and in protecting the NHS and Care Services.
"Our health, social care and wider partners would be severely affected without unpaid carers; carers across the county do fantastic work and we want to support them to continue their caring role.
"We understand the strain and additional pressure put on carers by the pandemic and many other external factors and challenges affecting people’s lives, and this strategy intends to put carers at the heart of what we do to ensure they have a good quality of life.
"Lancashire is already supporting carers in many ways, but we want to do as much as we can to ensure carers can access the support they need, when they need it. After talking to and meeting with carers to inform this strategy during 2023 we want to put into place support for carers informed by what they have told us, what matters to them and learn from what they think of the services they currently receive.
"This strategy explains the areas on which we want to focus on to support carers further, working with the NHS and our partners, and ensure we are involving them in shaping and designing services which make a difference to them and the person they care for."
Notes to editors
Recent census data has shown there to be 113,097 of these in the Lancashire County Council area – or almost one in ten people. Almost three quarters of cared for people are aged 55 and over, 67.9 % are aged 65 or over and almost two thirds of carers have been looking after or helping the person they care for over five years.
Similarly, recent data for carers in Lancashire reveals that caring for someone is equivalent to having a full-time job, while more than a third of carers spend more than 75 hours a week caring for someone.