AQW 23031/17-22

Ms Kellie Armstrong
Alliance Party
Strangford

Tabled Date: 23/09/2021
Answered On Date: 21/10/2021
Priority Written: No

Question:
To ask the Minister of Health what action he is taking to ensure Health and Social Care Trusts proactively reach out to identify all unpaid carers.

Answer:

Earlier this year my Department issued a leaflet to every household in Northern Ireland in an effort to encourage those in a caring role to identify themselves as carers and to contact their local Trust’s Carer Coordinator for support and to join their local Carer’s Register. Many previously unidentified carers have also come forward through the Covid vaccination programme and this contingent have since been signposted to other supports.

Trusts proactively reach out to identify informal, unpaid carers to ensure they have the support they require in their caring role, and are able to access appropriate advice and support. This is done by working closely with GPs, pharmacists, and the community and voluntary sector, especially condition specific agencies and other public agencies such as Councils and Colleges of Further Education. A range of information and communication methods are used to encourage people to come forward and identify themselves as carers and also to inform them of services available.

Trusts ensure services actively seek to identify carers, including young carers. This includes ensuring hospital teams understand what carers need in order to provide them with information and support. This is supported by an ongoing programme of staff training to raise awareness of carers and create capacity with staff to identify and support carers. As standard practice, when staff identify carers, they are offered carer assessments or reassessments and if accepted, arrangements are made for the assessments to be carried out. This is also supported by a programme of carer assessment training for staff.