Posted on: 13 August 2019
West Yorkshire and Harrogate Health and Care Partnership would like to recognise an exciting partnership between Carers Wakefield & District, The Mid Yorkshire Hospitals NHS Trust, Wakefield Council and South West Yorkshire Partnership NHS Foundation Trust which has been established to support unpaid carers.
Carers Wakefield and District have been awarded funding to base carer support workers in hospital settings offering information and support to unpaid carers. They will also be supporting carers to be involved in care and discharge planning so they understand the treatment that their loved ones are receiving and know how to support them once they are discharged from hospital. Crucially, carers will be linked in to support services so that they are better able to manage and maintain their own health and wellbeing.
Mid Yorkshire Hospitals NHS Trust and Wakefield Council will be developing carer friendly spaces in hospitals so that carers have access to up to date information boards and comfortable areas where they can get information, support and meet with relevant professionals about the care/treatment of their loved ones – an important area they want to share wider across the district. Carers will be encouraged to share their views on what they would like to see in hospitals and work is underway to involve unpaid carers to develop a ‘Carers Charter’ for Mid Yorkshire Hospitals NHS Trust.
Justine Bilton, Chief Officer at Carers Wakefield and District, said: “We are really excited to have the opportunity to be working with Mid Yorkshire Hospitals NHS Trust on their commitment to supporting unpaid carers. Being a carer can be extremely stressful and navigating the health and social care system can be overwhelming. Carers Wakefield & District hope to alleviate some of that stress by recognising carers earlier and providing advocacy, information, advice and emotional support through what can be a very tough time.”
The Mid Yorkshire Hospitals NHS Trust have systems in place to support working carers and have a regular forum providing opportunities for working carers to meet to get peer support and discuss issues which are important to them.
Dawn Parkes, Deputy Director of Nursing at The Mid Yorkshire Hospitals NHS Trust, said: “We recognise the challenges carers can face, who often haven’t recognised themselves as carers and therefore haven’t sought support. The hospital setting provides us with a window of opportunity to reach out with that support. As well as offering carer friendly spaces and accessible information, we also have systems in place to support working carers, including a regular forum providing opportunities for working carers to meet to get peer support and discuss issues which are important to them.”
Cllr Faith Heptinstall, Wakefield Council’s Cabinet Member for Adults and Health, said: “There are thousands of carers in the Wakefield district and it is important they get the help they need. We know that caring can be an extremely demanding role and we want carers to stay well and look after themselves whilst also providing them with the information and support they need to care for their loved ones.”
Fatima Khan-Shah, West Yorkshire and Harrogate Health and Care Partnership Programme Lead for Carers said: “Carers have told us about the importance of accessing services as easily as possible and the value of the right information and support to enable to continue caring. The work being done in collaboration with our partners in is the first step on a journey of truly integrated support for the carers of Wakefield”.
ENDS