Carers are the main providers of care, saving the country £5 billion - the equivalent of the NHS. Yet, when carers need to call on professional help and support, it is often absent. Carers tell us that all too often they have to battle for even the minimum of help. They also tell us that their knowledge and expertise is too often ignored by professionals, leaving carers feeling undervalued and left out of critical decisions. 

What should happen?

Right from the start, when a carer decides to take on a caring responsibility, or realises that they could do with some help, services should be there to support the carer and the person they care for.  These services need to be shaped around the lives of the person requiring care and their carer - flexible enough to enable the carer to work, have a break when they need it, maintain family relationships and stay safe and healthy. In short, they should enable carers to have the same choices as other members of society.

The reality

The reality for many carers is vastly different.  Many carers are not in the social care system, unaware of what help is available.  Carers Scotland found that a third of carers look after someone who has not had a community care assessment.  Almost two thirds of these carers reported that they do not get the help they need.

Carers have a right to have their needs assessed by the social work department, but only a third of carers have been assessed. Even when they are in the system, carers struggle to get the help they need because

• the right type of service is not available.
• poor quality services mean carers and the people they care for do not want to use them.
• good services are oversubscribed with lengthy waiting lists.
• services are not available at weekends, holdiays and out of hours.
• carers cannot afford the charges for services.

Making progress

Carers Scotland has

• spearheaded legislation - the Community Care & Health Act - which gives carers a right to an assessment independent of any assessment of the person for whom they care.   The Act also states that carers must be seen as key partners in the provision of care and their unique knowledge and experience about the person they care valued and respected. 
• ensured that carers are at the heart of government guidelines for when patients come out of hospital.
• provided training to workers in the voluntary and statutory sectors.  Carers Scotland is the leading provider of training to health and social care workers, ensuring they have the knowledge and skills to make a difference to carers' lives.
• worked with local authorities, the health service and other providers to improve their understanding of the role of carers and change their policies and practice. 

Carers Scotland is calling for

• all carers to be informed of their right to a carer's assessment.
• all carers to be treated as equal and key partners in the provision of care
• substantial increase in investment in quality social care services which deliver dignity and independence. increase the range and flexibility of services
• abolish charging for community care services.