1. Supporting people with caring responsibilities Dr Nicky Williams – CCG Vice Chair Jacqui Bunce – Associate Director

2. National and local policies Hertfordshire Carers Strategy Carers should be supported to : Carry on caring if they want to Work if they want to Have a life outside caring Stay fit and healthy and be safe Access full benefit entitlements Get good quality information when they need it Feel respected as carers, as partners in care Young carers should be able to achieve their full potential in education

3. Health and Wellbeing strategy We will: Support carers to deliver their role in the community Co-ordinate services to support carers Treat carers with respect and as partners in care Support carers in their roles, with appropriate interventions Provide a ‘no wrong door’ approach - all services proactively identifying and signposting carers appropriately Encourage schools to identify and support young carers Help employers to identify and support carer employees to balance their caring role and their job

4. The Facts 108,615 carers living in Hertfordshire -9.8% of the population (2011 census) Carers are: More likely to be women than men More likely to have health problems than those who do not have a caring responsibility Likely to be aged between 50-64. Level of care increases with age Most likely to be looking after someone with a physical disability (27%), problems connected with ageing (22%) or sight or hearing loss (14%)

5. Carer Feedback 27% of carers had sought advice in the previous 12 months but had found it fairly or very difficult to find Only 16% felt that social care services fully understood the impact of caring on their lives 20% of carers felt that HCS had helped them plan for an emergency in case they were ever temporarily unable to care

6. Carers said that they wanted: Robust contingency planning Rapid response services readily available to assist with unpredictable or emergency situations (including through the provision of equipment and extra care) Emotional and mental wellbeing to be considered as part of the assessment process Support for carers to undertake social activities Services such as Respite Care, Carer Breaks, Telecare were regarded as valuable.

7. What has been happening? Commissioning services with Carers In Herts and Crossroads Roll out of ‘carer friendly communities’ Carer friendly hospital – The Lister in Stevenage Carers’ champions project in GP Practices Crossroads supporting HomeFirst in Lower Lea Valley Web-based support tool for GPs will launch in October

8. Discussion What other challenges affect carers that we could tackle through the services we commission? What more could be done to support carers – through GP practices? – in the wider health system?