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Back Me Up found that when carers had a crisis they did not know who to contact to sort out replacement care. Emergency social services took too long to respond. Replacement care services were often not available in an emergency. In short carers were not getting back up in an emergency, sometimes with devastating consequences.
How are carers affected?
Many carers with life threatening conditions feel they have no option but to put their own health at risk, because of the unavailability and unreliability of replacement care. Carers also avoid going out on social excursions like shopping trips, visiting friends or going to the cinema, which other people take for granted – because they are worried about what might happen whilst they are away.
What should happen?
Every carer who has an assessment, which is a carer’s legal right, should be asked about emergencies and offered help to plan.
In addition, people who provide care for people with mental health problems under the Care Programme Approach should have a written care plan which includes contingencies.
Recently the Department of Health promised that in England, short term home-based support will be established in crisis or emergency situations by 2007/8 . No similar announcements have yet been made in Scotland, Wales, or Northern Ireland.
