Carers and young carers

Do you provide support to family or friends who could not manage without this help? This could be caring for a relative, partner or friend using or who has used our services.

A carer could be a spouse, partner, parent, sibling, child, friend, a neighbour, or any other relative. Anybody from any background and of any age can be a carer and each carer’s experiences are unique to their own circumstances.

The role of a carer can include activities such as assisting at mealtimes, helping people to the toilet, helping people to wash and dress, move around the home, shop, clean, cook, wash clothes, help with medication, look after money, and take people to appointments as well as providing company and emotional support.

Groups for carers

When the person you care for comes into our care, it is natural that you may worry. We are keen to hear from you.

Our carer involvement groups will provide support for carers of all ages.

Come to our groups to share your experiences and offer feedback. Your views and knowledge are valued, shared, and used to make improvements.

Carers Open Door Group

This meeting takes place once a month. It is about hearing from you. We value your feedback about our services and your experiences as a carer.

Carers Action Group

At this group we meet four times a year. At the meeting we take all of the feedback gathered and turn it into action. This brings together carers and SHSC staff, drives our strategy and makes changes happen.

Find out more about these two carer-led groups, the next time the groups are meeting and how to join here.

Triangle of Care

At SHSC we are working to improve the contact we have with carers, how carers can input into the way we work, and the support we offer for carers and families of our service users. We want to make contact with carers meaningful and useful to improve the care we provide to our service users.

That's why we've signed up to the Triangle of Care - a therapeutic alliance between service users, staff members and carers that promotes safety, supports recovery and sustains wellbeing.

It has six key elements:

Carers and the essential role they play are identified at first contact or as soon as possible thereafter.
Staff are 'carer aware' and trained in carer engagement strategies.
Policy and practice protocols re: confidentiality and sharing information, are in place.
Defined post(s) responsible for carers are in place.
A carer introduction to the service and staff is available, with a relevant range of information across the care pathway.
A range of carer support services is available.

To find out more about the Triangle of Care watch this short video on YouTube.

Carers resources and information pack

Caring for a loved one has an impact on carers, young carers and families.

When your focus is on someone else it’s easy to neglect your own physical and mental wellbeing.

On this page you’ll find a range of resources designed to ensure you have access to all the support you need as a carer.

All of the resources have been co-produced alongside carers and professionals at Sheffield Carers Centre, Sheffield Young Carers and Chilypep.

You can find out more about our commitment to carers by taking a look at our Carer and Young Carers Strategy here.

Advocacy

Receiving support from an advocate can be really useful in helping you to express your views and wishes. They can make sure that your voice is heard.

This guide outlines how you can access advocacy support in Sheffield.

Carers and Young Carers Charter

It’s really important to us that carers and young carers are recognised as experts in the important care they provide to our service users.

Our Carers and Young Carers Charter outlines our commitment to carers and how we will ensure you are listened to and involved in the care of your loved on.

You can take a look at the charter by clicking here.

Carers and Young Carers Assessments

A carers assessment is for adult carers aged 18 or over and looks at how their role as a carer is impacting on their life.

A young carers assessment is for carers under the age of 18 and looks at their needs and the needs of their family to determine if they need any support to make their life easier.

You can find out more about carers and young carers assessments by clicking here.

Carers and Young Carers checklist

We’ve put together a checklist that you can use to check if you have received all the information you need as a carer.

If you read through the checklist and there is something that you haven’t received just get in touch with the team and we can help point you in the right direction.

To download the checklist, click here.

Community teams

Your loved one may be being cared for by one of our community teams.

We’ve put together a guide to help explain the role of a community team and how they care for your loved one. It also explains what the Care Programme Approach is.

Confidentiality and information sharing guide

Confidentiality is really important to all of us. This short guide runs through your rights and best practice regarding confidentiality and information sharing.

Hospital admissions and the Mental Health Act

If your loved one has been admitted to hospital under the Mental Health Act this short guide talks you through everything you need to know, and explains things like the Mental Capacity Act, Lasting Power of Attorney and Advance Decisions.

Support groups

We offer a variety of support groups for carers and young carers. These groups are based with our individual services and include:

Forest Lodge’s Carers’ Forum
EIS Relatives’ Group
Gender Identity Service’s Family Support Group
Memory Service’s START programme
Chaplaincy Carers’ Support Group
START’s Families in Recovery Service

If you would like to find out more about any of these groups please email engage@shsc.nhs.uk

Understanding mental health conditions and medication

This guide provides you with links to further information on a range of mental health conditions, and the medication that your loved one may have been prescribed as part of their care.

Mental health crisis

This guide can help prepare you and tell you what to do if you or somebody you care for is approaching a mental health crisis.

Useful contacts

If you need support as a carer or young carer there are lots of local and national organisations who can offer advice. This guide lists the different options available to you, as well as groups that you can attend.

How to get involved

This guide tells you all about how to get involved as a member of the Trust. This will help to make sure that you are knowledgeable about our services. That could be really helpful if a time comes when you or someone you care for needs the service we provide. Our members have a range of opportunities to get involved, support their local services and have their say in the future of services.

Get in touch

If you would like to find out more about the support we offer to carers, please email engage@shsc.nhs.uk and one of the team will get back to you as soon as possible.