Can I get help with caring?

Are you a carer?

You may not think of yourself as one, but a carer is someone of any age, including children and young people under 18, who look after someone with an illness, disability, infirmity, or addiction, without payment. This can include age-related frailty.  The care they provide may be full time, part time or just now and then.  The vast majority of older people are cared for by their families.  This is known as 'unpaid care', as opposed to the paid care that is provided by home care workers. 

According to Scottish Government statistics, one in eight people in Scotland provide unpaid care at any one time and over half a million of those are providing care to someone outside their own home.

These unpaid carers are vitally important and key legislation has attempted to recognise and support their role.

The Scottish Executives' 'Strategy for Carers in Scotland' (1999) policy committed extra funding for Social Work Departments to develop information, support and short break (respite) services for carers.  A new Carers Strategy was published jointly with the Convention of Scottish Local Authorities (CoSLA) in July 2010.

The Community Care and Health (Scotland) Act 2002 also contained important sections relating to unpaid carers, recognising them as partners in the provision of care.  Under this legislation, carers have a right to a separate Carer's Assessment of their needs for support in continuing to provide care.

Support for carers may be anything which may assist a carer to continue to provide care, such as

• Travel assistance
• Advice and support
• Carers' Centres
• Training
• Respite care (short breaks)
• Carer's Allowance
• Community Alarms
• Telecare

 

The first step in accessing support is a Carer's Assessment.