Carers (Unpaid)

Looking After Someone?


Are you an unpaid carer? Do you support a friend or family member who is older, disabled or seriously ill? Then Caerphilly Council’s Carers Team is there to support you. They are working hard and enthusiastically to improve support for carers. They want to identify hidden carers and also to bring carers together to support each other.  Since September 2016, when the Carers Coordinator came into post, they have achieved a great deal but they are well aware that there is still a lot of work to do.  Their priorities over the coming year are:

To establish useful training for carers

To form an established structure for the staff supporting carers

To engage more with young carers and working carers

To improve online access within communities to reduce isolation and provide carers with more tools to make their caring roles easier

To review support for carers on a wider UK basis to ascertain whether there are initiatives and ways of working that could further improve things in Caerphilly

To produce a robust “vision” for carers in Caerphilly to make sure current work is sustainable and that carers’ views are incorporated and met where possible.

They have introduced a carer’s emergency card for carers to help provide them with peace of mind.  The free card aims to enable the emergency services and others to quickly identify people as carers in the event of an emergency. By carrying the card at all times, in the event of an accident or emergency, services will be alerted that there is someone at home who cannot manage without help or assistance. They will then contact the number on the back of the card so that someone can assist the person that is being cared for.

They organise various activities and events for carers to acknowledge their hard work and also to give them a break from their caring role.

They have been in talks with our Forum about ways in which we might cooperate, particularly by sharing information with our members and organising joint events.

They have a mailing list for carers (post/e-mail or both) and they also have a text messaging service.  Additionally, they have a closed Facebook group to which people can be added as long as they are on Facebook.  All you need to do is search for “Caerphilly County Carers Group” and then request to be added.

They have a webpage:  www.caerphilly.gov.uk/carers

Twitter account: @CarerCaerphilly

And if you wish to contact them, you can email:   carers@caerphilly.gov.uk