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Five-year strategy for unpaid carers to be rolled out
| Author: Craig Forsyth | Published: 6th August 2024 15:17 |
West Northamptonshire Council (WNC) has adopted a five-year strategy which sets out the vision to support unpaid carers across the area, helping them to find a balance between their caring responsibilities and maintaining their own health and lifestyle.
A carer is someone who selflessly offers unpaid assistance to their partner, family member, friend or neighbour who may be unwell, have a disability or struggle without this essential help.
The carers strategy (2024-29) is for all unpaid carers that live in, or care for someone that lives in West Northants, and has been developed together with local carers, ensuring their voices drive forward progress over the next few years to provide the right support and information for them.
Chosen by our local carers, 17 priorities have been identified to focus on improving over the next five years as well as specific measurements to track progress. Each one has a set of actions that will support with achieving the priority over the five-year period.
Pat Marshall, a carer with experience who has helped to shape the strategy, commented: “Daunting, fear, confusion, research, advocate, crazily passionate, compassion, respect, and results. All these describes what carers feel every day, so having the privilege to be part of a co-production team that embraced the above and turned it into a great strategy for our own carers, what a great accomplishment! Our vision was to take a little of the frustration and sense of helplessness and turn it into a new strategy that will help clarify what that role is, how to attain the help needed and challenge the stigma and stereotyping of what a carer knows and understands about the person in their care. The greatest inheritance and legacy bridging all generations.”
Cllr Matt Golby, Deputy Leader of the Council and Cabinet Member for Adult Care, Public Health, and Regulatory Services at WNC said: “We fully recognise the invaluable contribution of our carers, and we are delighted to have worked with them to develop this five-year strategy. By working collaboratively with carers, the strategy reflects the support they need to balance their caring responsibilities and their wellbeing.”
Work is now underway to roll-out the priorities set out in year one which include:
- A One-Stop Shop delivered in all of our Local Area Partnerships (LAPs) for carers to meet other carers, find support and be given information
- Develop and provide a carer guide in both written format and available on an app
- Find hidden carers who are people that do not yet recognise themselves as a carer and offer them support.
Over the next five-years WNC will work with North Northamptonshire Council and health colleagues to deliver the ambitions set out in the strategy and ensure that carers receive the support they need.
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