'Serious and compassionate' strategy to support Carers

Building better support for those in our community who selflessly care for others is front and centre of Orkney’s new Carers Strategy.

In it, Orkney Health and Care sets out the concrete ways it will work to improve support for those who look after others, over the next three years.

It’s estimated there are around 3,000 carers in the Orkney community who help others – friends, family, neighbours - with daily life.

And without this quiet army of selfless helping hands, local health and social care services such as home care, day centres, care homes, and hospital services would be quite simply overwhelmed.

The new Strategy draws on feedback from local folk who take on the awesome responsibility of being a helping hand for others, using experiences gathered across Orkney’s first Carers Conference in May last year and surveys carried out with the help of Crossroads Care Orkney and Age Scotland Orkney.

Some of the work set out in the Strategy is already in train, with efforts to recruit a dedicated Carers Lead and a Carer Support Worker now underway and hoped to be in place by this summer.

Other aims for the coming three years include:

• Hold a second Carers Conference, before the Autumn of 2025.
• Reach more people who are caring but have not sought support.
• Offer an assessment to all carers seeking support, to open up more options for them - and streamline the process.
• Prepare and publish a dedicated Young Carers Strategy before the end of 2024.
• Develop referral processes to ensure carers know the financial advice available to them, for example through the Orkney Money Matters initiative.
• Deliver an Unpaid Carer-Friendly policy for staff employed by Orkney Islands Council, subject to approval by the Council.
• Set up a pilot to test more innovative ways of providing respite or ‘breaks’ for our carers, by the end of 2024.
• Begin ‘carer aware’ training for frontline workers throughout local public and third sector organisations, training at least 100 frontline workers by the end of 2024.

Rachael King is Chair of the Integration Joint Board which oversees Orkney Health and Care’s service planning and delivery:

“This strategy, when it was approved by the Integration Joint Board recently, was described by colleagues as ‘serious and compassionate’.

“The actions and aims set out are clear and measurable. They will keep us on track and accountable as we build better support for those in our community who are the absolute backbone when it comes to keeping people happy, connected and independent right through life.

“One of our biggest challenges remains that many folk do not consider themselves ‘carers’ despite the vital support they are giving others, or do not want to come forward for support.

“But life does not always go to plan, and carers can quickly find themselves in crisis situations either with their own health or with the increasing needs of people they look after.

“We will continue the important work of raising awareness of what a carer is – and encourage people to contact services and make a plan before it’s desperately needed. This will also help us better plan support services.

"We’d urge everyone in our community to read the strategy – in just a dozen pages it paints a clear picture of caring, its importance in our community, the expected number of people who will need care in future, and our duty to provide meaningful and effective support for all carers, as set out in the Carers Act - in full recognition of the immense and vital support they provide.

“We also hope carers in our community will hear about the strategy and the aims within it, and feel acknowledged, reassured and positive about their future and the improved support systems we are working to build.”

The Orkney Carers Strategy can be found at www.orkney.gov.uk/carers

More information:

By law in Scotland, carers can seek support through their local council to help them continue caring. In Orkney, Crossroads Care is the local organisation appointed by Orkney Islands Council and Orkney Health and Care to coordinate that support. Help ranges from free respite care for unpaid carers so they can take a break from caring, as well as advice, information, emotional support and advocacy in what can be a stressful and complex time.

Carers come in all shapes and sizes – they can be young people looking after parents, adults looking after elderly relatives, or a friend or neighbour looking out for someone they know – and many don’t know about the support at hand.

If that sounds like someone you know – a friend, a work colleague, or maybe even yourself – there are a few places you can go to find out more and start developing a plan.

To talk about your caring role and the kind of support you could access, contact Crossroads Care Orkney on 01856 870500 or by email carers@crossroadsorkney.co.uk, or visit them at Kirkwall Travel Centre, West Castle Street, Kirkwall KW151GU.

You can also:

• Visit the NHS Inform website https://www.nhsinform.scot/caring
• Call the national helpline 0800 011 320.
• Contact Orkney Islands Council's Social Work team by calling 01856 873535 or emailing Orkney Health and Care OHACfeedback@orkney.gov.uk. (This email is monitored office hours only).

More about the legal rights of unpaid carers in Scotland:

The Carers Act, passed by the Scottish Government in 2018, enables unpaid carers to seek help and support from Councils and other support organisations. In Orkney, Crossroads Carers Orkney is appointed by Orkney Health and Care to coordinate that support.