The Carers Strategy 2024-34 highlights how vital Carers are in our community and in supporting our overall health and care system, and commits to improving the support available to them.
Written by the Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC), in partnership with Crossroads Isle of Man, the strategy will be discussed at the June sitting of Tynwald.
If approved, it will address the main issues raised in the State of Caring Report, in which Carers detailed the challenges they face and the impact on their own wellbeing and physical health.
Carers support friends, family, or neighbours who have an illness, disability, mental health condition or addiction. This is often done while working and balancing their own needs. The strategy recognises the impact that has, not only to the people that they care for, but in the overall delivery of our health and social care services, and pledges to raise public awareness of their contribution.
The strategy also sets out specific actions to better support Carers to sustain good wellbeing, mental health and physical health; increasing the availability of respite opportunities, ensuring carers are part of the conversation about the people they care for, increasing the number of carer assessments carried out and undertaking targeted campaigns to increase identification of young carers in all educational settings.
Additionally it says an appropriate suite of support services should be developed to help all Carers access meaningful breaks (respite) from their caring role, and provide carer awareness training to healthcare professionals.
Minister for Health and Social Care, Lawrie Hooper MHK, said:
‘Carers Week 2024 focusses on ‘putting carers on the map’ but we hope that this strategy, if supported by my colleagues in Tynwald, will help us go one step further.
‘Without carers our healthcare system would face unmanageable levels of demand, they are absolutely invaluable to us and the people the look after, often to the detriment of their own physical or mental wellbeing. One of our Island Plan commitments is to tackle this by providing appropriate support for those who choose to care for others at home. This strategy sets out what that support looks like, based on feedback from Carers themselves.’
Crossroads Chief Executive Officer, Jackie Betteridge, said:
‘We know that Carers should be seen as ‘people first’ and have their uniqueness respected, and it is our hope that this strategy will provide a blueprint through which this can be achieved. If approved, this will mean that carers are provided with the appropriate support to enable them to undertake their caring roles whilst balancing their own needs.
‘Thank you to all of the carers who participated in the State of Caring survey. Your experiences and insight was key to developing the strategy which we hope reflect that valuable feedback.’
