Caring is rewarding but can take its toll. Many unpaid carers share they are exhausted, struggling financially with little or no breaks from caring. The impact on their own health and wellbeing can feel overwhelming.

Recent engagement with local unpaid carers, led by carer organisations and West Yorkshire Health and Care Partnership (WY HCP) found that the impact of their responsibilities is far reaching.

Working with local specialist carer organisations and the local arrangements that each local authority area has in place, all the organisations that make up the WY HCP are committed to Making Caring Visible, Valued and Supported.

The Partnership’s work spans across all programmes of work, including mental health, cancer and the vital role of voluntary community and social enterprise sector, as well as with unpaid carers of all ages. The carers voice is at the centre of all work, ensuring their voice is heard and embedding the ethos of, “what matters to you?”.

The work of the programme is focused on tangible interventions that support unpaid carers in meaningful ways, focusing on several areas including supporting those who balance work and caring, helping over 50,000 unidentified carers receive their Covid vaccine in 2021, enabling them to continue caring safely without fear of breaking down the continuity of care received.

WY HCP’s network of networks demonstrates a commitment to the ambitions through demonstrable actions.

This year’s Carers Week West Yorkshire campaign includes:

Message in Bottle: working with local caring organisations, in partnership with Yorkshire Ambulance Service NHS Trust. The initiative is encouraging people to think about what their contingency plan looks like, ensuring in the event of an emergency those they care for receive the help they need.

The initiative was created by the Lions Club Charity and includes a plastic container to store important medical and personal information that supports the carer and cared for person in an emergency. The container is recommended to be stored in the fridge with a sticker on the front of the fridge so emergency services will know to access it. Bottles and contingency plans have been distributed to carers services across West Yorkshire.

Guidance for managers: as many as one in seven workers are unpaid carers, and the Working Carers guidance for managers has been produced supporting unpaid carers in the workplace. Over 600 people stop working every day in the UK to provide care. This means employers lose staff, knowledge, and skills.

Bite size learning materials: a web section with resources for those who work with children and young people enabling them to be able to identify and support young carers. The webpage includes, quick wins, one-minute guides, local young carer services, training slides from the Children’s Society. Co-produced films are in the final stages of production with young carers sharing what their life is like and sharing some of the missed opportunities and challenges they face.

The WY HCP programme is committed to supporting and recognising unpaid carers from ethnic diverse communities.

The WY HCP Race Equality Network are working with programmes to deliver a series of health and wellbeing webinars dedicated to sharing the lived experience of working carers from ethnically diverse communities.

Evidence shows that many unpaid carers across our workforce face a multitude of challenges because of both caring and being from an ethnic minority background. All organisations that form the WY HCP want their health and care system to be a supportive environment where they fully understand the needs of its diverse workforce.

Carer’s Week shines a light on the sacrifices unpaid carers make as well as the rewards. We know for many the role is relentless and continues 24/7. WY HCP has an awarding winning Unpaid Carers Programme that recognises this and is committed to supporting unpaid carers of all ages, now and in the future to reduce the health inequalities and many challenges they face.

Working with local carer organisations and all partners is key to supporting all carers, regardless of age of background.

- Richard Parry and Fatima Khan Shah are co-chair and associate director for WY HCP Unpaid Carers Programme.

Support is available for the many unpaid carers - Richard Parry and Fatima Khan Shah