Carers

The cross-government carers strategy Carers at the Heart of 21st Century Families and Communities was published in 2008. This policy set out a 10 year plan for improving support to carers in England. Its vision was that by 2018;

• carers would be respected as expert care partners with access to integrated and personalised services
• carers would be able to have a life of their own
• carers would be supported so as not to be forced into financial hardship
• carers would be supported to stay mentally and physically well and treated with dignity
• children and young people would be protected from inappropriate caring and would receive necessary support.

This strategy was refreshed in November 2010 when the Department of Health published: Recognised, valued and supported: next steps for the Carers Strategy. This set out the government's priorities for carers, identifying the actions it will take over the next four years to ensure the best possible outcomes for carers and those they support.

What this means for the workforce
The workforce is vital to ensuring that carers and the people they care for get the services and support they need. In addition to other initiatives, the Department of Health (England) funded a training and awareness raising programme for key professionals, from health to housing, to support carers.

This programme was led by Skills for Health and Skills for Care.

Resources

• Common core principles for working with carers Organisations can embed these principles in their policies, their agreements with other agencies, and their own culture and practices. They can be implemented through service delivery, appraisal, supervision, and training and development planning.

• Skills for Care and Skills for Health have produced Carers Matter – Everybody's Business, guidance to help employers and organisations support carers better through learning and development of staff.

The guidance comes in three parts and provides information about:

Part one - who carers are (as distinct from care workers)

Part two - why carers are important

Part three - how you can support the learning and development of your workforce to improve and enhance your services for the people who use them, and their carers.

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Some policies, strategies and guidance were developed under the previous government and as such may be subject to review by the Coalition Government.