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Making?support?for?Carers in?Nottingham?and Nottinghamshire?a?priority
Our?first?virtual event?takes?place?on?Wednesday?12?October:? 10am?-?12pm
Open?to?all,?we'd?like?to?develop?a?Community?of?Practice?(CoP)?to?connect?people?with?an?interest?in?identifying?and?supporting?carers?better;?to?share?ideas?and?learn?from?each?other.
Nationally?it?is?estimated?that?there?are?at?least?13.6?million?people? currently?caring?for?a?friend,?neighbour?or?family?member? because?of?illness,?frailty,?disability,?a?mental?health?problem?or?an? addiction.?4.5?million?of?these?people?have?become?new?to? caring?since?the?start?of?the?Covid19?pandemic?(Carers?UK,?2021).?
In?Nottingham?and?Nottinghamshire,?the?councils?and?Clinical? Commissioning?Group,?and?its?partners,?have?a?rich?history?of? supporting?carers?and?this?has?helped?many?carers?identify?and? seek?valuable?help.?However,?despite?this?success,?sadly?many? people?caring?for?someone?who?couldn’t?cope?without?their?help,? remain?hidden?across?the?city?and?county.?Many?people,? including?children,?don’t?identify?as?being?a?carer?–?they’re?just? doing?what?they?believe?is?right.?They?may?not?realise?that?there?is? support?available?to?them,?and?they?will?not?always?know?how?to? ask?for?help.?Therefore?meaning,?they?are?often?caring?in?isolation,? unaware?of?support?services?that?may?be?available?to?help?them? and?their?families.
The?Care?Act?2014?defines?a?carer?as?“an?adult?who?provides?or? intends?to?provide?care?for?another?adult,?usually?a?relative?or? friend.?This?is?not?the?same?as?someone?who?provides?care? professionally,?or?through?a?voluntary?organisation”.
The?Children?and?Families?Act?2014?defines?a?young?carer?as?“a? person?under?18?who?provides?or?intends?to?provide?care?for? another?person”. As?professionals?working?in?organisations?and?services,?we?come? into?contact?with?carers?on?a?daily?basis,?though?we?might?not? know?it.?They?are?the?mothers,?fathers,?sons,?daughters,?siblings,? spouses,?friends?and?neighbours?we?see?at?school,?at?work,?in?the? community?or?at?appointments,?during?treatment,?on?the?ward?or? in?their?own?home.?They?are?the?ones?shopping,?picking?up? prescriptions,?managing?finances?and?providing?emotional? support.?However,?whilst?we?are?often?ideally?placed?to?pick?up? on?signs?that?someone?may?be?caring,?we?may?not?feel?confident? in?supporting?carers?or?know?where?to?signpost?to?support.