Carers Week reflections from Gloria Ede

My name is Gloria Ede, the Carers Lead at the University Hospital Southampton. I am a registered social worker.

Carers week is great opportunity to reflect on the role carers play within the health and social care system. The theme for this year is ‘recognising and supporting carers in the community’ with a focus to reach out across communities to help people who don’t think of themselves as carers, to access support.

Prior to my current role, I mostly worked closely with unpaid carers supporting their loved ones with learning disabilities, ranging from mild to severe. Understanding the important role they play and some of the complexities it involves, I believe support for carers is very vital.

The most recent Census in 2021, together with ONS Census data for Scotland and Northern Ireland, suggests that 5.7 million people or 9% of the UK population are providing unpaid care across the UK. However, Carers UK research in 2022 estimates the number of unpaid carers could be as high as 10.6 million (Carers UK, Carers Week 2022 research report).

Research undertaken by Centre for Care colleagues Maria Petrillo and Matt Bennett, finds that the value of unpaid care in England and Wales is now estimated to be £162 billion, exceeding that of the entire NHS budget in England for health service spending, which by comparison was £156 billion for 2020-21.

The Health and Care Act (2022) was introduced for carers to be involved in clinical decisions including discharge processes. However, prior to the new legislation, University Hospital Southampton committed to a Carers Strategy with 3 main objectives, which includes identifying carers, providing resources to support carers, and working collaboratively in care planning.

While achieving our objectives is still in progress, UHS has made advances in the following areas:

• Introducing the carers lead position
• Creating a carers support service
• Providing £4 carers meal vouchers sponsored by the Southampton Hospitals Charity
• Hidden disability Lanyard scheme
• Reinforced links with carers support organisations

The carers support service is moving to be placed under Southampton Hospitals Charity, to give room for additional funding from donors who want to support UHS carers. The carers meal vouchers were introduced to make a difference, especially during the current cost of living crisis. Carers allowance is currently £76.75 for those who provide at least 35 hours of care weekly, so many carers will be going through a difficult time. Thanks to the Patient Experience team, the carers meal voucher scheme was initially funded, and a donation of £50,000 from Southampton Hospitals Charity extends it until March 2024.

Our service includes the following:

• We offer emotional support to carers by telephone or in person (onsite).
• We refer for Carers Assessment.
• We signpost to other support services in the community.
• We advocate for carers involvement in decision making in line with the Health and Care Act 2022
• We support carers through complaint processes.

We also have weekly 1-to-1 carers café at MOP Hub (Discharge Lounge) G level West Wing. To book a slot send an email to Gloria.Ede@uhs.nhs.uk