Carers in Norfolk and Waveney – Support and Information
Unpaid Carers of all ages play a vital role in keeping people safe and well at home who would otherwise need ongoing care from local services. Local and national data consistently shows that caring can have a significant negative impact on Carers’ own health and wellbeing. You can learn more about how we work with Carers here.
All GP practices have a carers’ register – a list of patients who are providing unpaid care to someone with a long-term health condition. If your practice knows that you are an unpaid carer they can offer you support. Carers UK have information about ‘Talking to you GP’ which includes a template letter to help you contact your practice.
Read on to see what support and information is available in Norfolk and Waveney. Click a heading below to visit the relevant section of this page:
Carers Matter Norfolk
If you are looking after a friend or family member who could not cope without you, Carers Matter Norfolk is here to support you. Carers Matter Norfolk is the countywide service funded by Norfolk County Council and the NHS to provide support to unpaid carers. All services are free and available to people aged 18+ caring for someone aged 18+. Support is available to those caring for someone living in Norfolk, whether the carer lives in the county or elsewhere (caring at a distance).
Their support includes providing:
- A specialist advice line
- Carer’s assessments
- Carer’s breaks
- A Health and Wellbeing Fund
- A self-help hub https://carersselfhelphub.org.uk/
The Carers Matter Norfolk Advice Line provides free, independent and confidential support. The team of Carer Advisors have been trained to provide listening and emotional support and many have personal experience of caring.
If they identify you will benefit from additional support such as a carer’s assessment, counselling, access to the health and wellbeing fund, a break from your caring role or education and training, we can help with this.
It is free to call our Advice Line from both landline and mobile telephones or you can chat online to an Advisor via our website.
You can call 0800 083 1148, email info@carersmatternorfolk.org.uk or visit carersmatternorfolk.org.uk. If you would like regular email updates giving information on support and advice for carers you can sign up at carersmatternorfolk.org.uk/keep-in-touch/.
Carers Voice Norfolk and Waveney are pleased to share a new Carers information card which is to be given out at vaccination sites for those who are identified as a Carer. Carers Voice are here to give unpaid Carers a voice in the way their services in Norfolk and Waveney are designed, developed and delivered. They are partners within the Carers Matter Norfolk service. The link on the card will take Carers to a Carers to this page.
For more information, please email info@carersvoice.org
Young Carers Matter Norfolk
Young Carers Matter Norfolk is a partnership of voluntary sector organisations specialising in supporting carers and young people. We want to level the playing field for young carers in Norfolk by ensuring that every young carer is identified and provided with the support, friendship and opportunities that every child deserves.
We have a team of Triage & Assessment Workers and Family Workers who work with families to ensure the right support is put in place to remove or reduce the caring the young carer provides. Across Norfolk we work with our partners, Youth Workers and Young Carer Support Workers to give young carers a voice, provide; group and 1:1 support, fun activities and the opportunity to meet other young carers, as well as the chance to learn new skills and access wellbeing sessions.
For more information, please visit: https://www.youngcarersmatternorfolk.org/ or call the free Advice Line on 0800 083 1148. Otherwise follow us on social media: Twitter, Facebook or Instagram.
Suffolk Family Carers
For over 30 years Suffolk Family Carers have been helping family carers of all ages across Suffolk get the support they need to live fuller lives. We provide information, advice and support to thousands of family Carers each year. We also campaign on issues that affect Carers and their families, to ensure their voices are heard. For more information, please call 01473 835477, email hello@suffolkfamilycarers.org or visit www.suffolkfamilycarers.org.
Family Voice Norfolk
We are parents and carers of children and young people aged 0–25 with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND) in Norfolk. Our aim is to improve services for our children and young people. We encourage our parent carer members to tell us what is working well or not working well for their families and organise events at which they can hear directly from professionals in education, health and social care and ask their own questions. We also attend over a thousand meetings a year to make sure that parent carers’ views are heard by planners and decision-makers. For more information and to become a member, please visit https://www.familyvoice.org.uk/
West Norfolk Carers
West Norfolk Carers is an independent charity, with a strong history supporting unpaid carers and their families. We tailor support to the individual so each person gains support appropriate to their needs. We work to help family carers to improve their emotional and physical well-being, resilience and abilities to cope with their caring roles – whilst also having a ‘life of their own’. We are dedicated to supporting family carers of all ages and helping them to cope with their caring responsibilities.
For more information please contact (01553) 768155 or visit us at 20, Thoresby College, Queen Street, King’s Lynn, Norfolk, PE30 1HX
Carers Emergency Plan and Carers Emergency Card
Norfolk County Council can help with information related to emergency plans.
Please visit https://www.norfolk.gov.uk/care-support-and-health/get-help-with-looking-after-someone/prepare-for-emergencies/emergency-carers-card for information and links to set up a plan.
If you need help to complete the plan, please call the 24-hour helpline – 0344 800 8020.
Young Carers Emergency Plan
It is important for Young Carers to have an Emergency Plan in place. Young Carers Matter Norfolk can help support you to do so.
To get help writing your Emergency Plan, get in touch using the Quick Enquiry Form, found at www.youngcarersmatternorfolk.org or call us on 0800 083 1148. Our telephone lines are open 9am-5pm Monday to Friday and all calls are free.
Carers Identity Passport
When a person goes into hospital, it can be a difficult time for Carers. Many Carers want to be involved, informed and help provide care. Carers are real experts and know the person they care for well, including complex conditions, learning or communication difficulties or memory loss. They often know about medication, side-effects and how the patient wishes to be cared for.
A Carers Identity Passport has been co-produced with Carers and staff across the Integrated Care System to ensure Carers are identified and recognised in in-patient healthcare settings so they can be involved in decisions which relate to the prevention or diagnosis of illness or the care or treatment of the person they care for. This also enables them to be involved in plans relating to discharge from hospital as soon as feasible, if the person they care for is likely to require care and support.
The card includes the Carers name, a Carer Identity Passport number and issue date. The Identity Passport will be issued by the central organisation, Carers Voice Norfolk and Waveney, who will use the number and issue date to enable the monitoring and evaluation of the scheme.
Carers will be asked to provide basic details. These are email address, name, address, and locality. They will also be asked to confirm their caring status from the following list:
- Carer over 18 caring for adult
- Carer over 18 caring for a child (under 18)
- Carer under 18 caring for adult
- Carer under 18 caring for a child (under 18)
To register for a Carers Identity Passport using an online form please go to: www.carersvoice.org/carers-identity-passport. If you need support to complete the online form, please call 07932095312.
The Carers Identity Passport, Education Pack for Young Carers contains information for Young Carers about being recognised and being included in conversations about the person they look after as well as signposting to support available.
Norfolk County Council
Adult Social Services
Adult Social Services can help support you as a Carer. Please visit https://www.norfolk.gov.uk/care-support-and-health/get-help-with-looking-after-someone/support-for-carers for more information, such as how to receive a Carers Assessment and training available for you.
Childrens Social Services
Childrens Social Services can help support you as a Young Carer. Please visit https://www.norfolk.gov.uk/care-support-and-health/get-help-with-looking-after-someone/young-carers for more information.
Suffolk County Council
Adult Social Services
Adult Social Services can help support you as a Carer. Please visit https://www.suffolk.gov.uk/care-and-support-for-adults/caring-for-someone/ for more information, such as how to receive a Carers Assessment and training available for you.
Childrens Social Services
Childrens Social Services can help support you as a Young Carer. Please visit https://www.suffolk.gov.uk/children-families-and-learning/support-for-young-carers-in-suffolk/ for more information.
Norfolk and Suffolk NHS Foundation Trust (NSFT)
There is lots of useful help and advice on the NSFT webpages, specifically for Carers, including details on local support groups – https://www.nsft.nhs.uk/carers.
There is a dedicated email address for carers for you to ask questions about anything causing you concern – carersQAservice@nsft.nhs.uk. If you need urgent help, please Call 111 and select option 2 to speak to the 24-hour urgent mental health helpline.
NHS Hospital Trusts
Find out about the support available for carers at the NHS hospital foundation trusts in Norfolk and Waveney, including downloadable resources and visiting information:
- James Paget University Hospital NHS Foundation Trust Carers information (jpaget.nhs.uk)
- Norfolk and Norwich University Hospital NHS Foundation Trust
- How we support carers: https://www.nnuh.nhs.uk/patients-visitors/carers/how-we-support-carers/
- Our Carers Forum: https://www.nnuh.nhs.uk/patients-visitors/carers/carers-forum/
- The Queen Elizabeth Hospital Kings Lynn NHS Foundation Trust The Queen Elizabeth Hospital King’s Lynn NHS Foundation Trust: carers (qehkl.nhs.uk)
Giving Carers a Voice
Carers Voice Norfolk & Waveney
Carers Voice is an independent charity representing Unpaid Carers in Norfolk and Waveney. Its Mission is to improve the health and wellbeing of all Carers in Norfolk and Waveney. Through partnership working it endeavours to ensure that the voice of Carers is heard and listened to, enabling support and services to be designed and delivered that reflect Carers’ needs and interests. Within Carers Voice is a team of Carers Ambassadors who have lived experience of being in a Caring role and provide insight in the development of services, policies and decisions which affect them and those they care for. The ethos of Carers Voice is to work in co-production with Carers on all projects. We are an integral part of the co-production process with the Integrated Care System in Norfolk and Waveney and provide guidance on areas of strategic change that will support Carers wellbeing.
Getting involved- Carers Voice hold local Carer Involvement Meetings every quarter in five areas across Norfolk and Waveney which are North Norfolk, South Norfolk, East Norfolk & Waveney, West Norfolk and Norwich/Central Norfolk. These meetings are for Carers to come together with other Carers and practitioners working in the local area to share feedback about services and support. They are an opportunity to identify what could be improved and co-produce solutions. Issues within these meetings that cannot be resolved are escalated to the strategic Carers Voice Partnership Board Meetings which take place each quarter and are attended by key partners that can influence and create change.
For more information visit: https://www.carersvoice.org/meetings/
Carers Voice also have a bi-monthly newsletter with information relevant to Carers including local and national items of interest, policy changes and events for Carers.
To become a member of Carers Voice to receive their newsletter, information about Carers meetings and involvement opportunities, visit https://www.carersvoice.org/carer-voice-membership/
Contact Information:
Email: info@carersvoice.org
Twitter: https://twitter.com/CarersVoiceNW
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/carersvoice/
Caring Together
Caring Together is a charity supporting carers of all ages across Norfolk, Cambridgeshire and Peterborough.
They provide information and advice, run services in local communities and campaign for improved support for carers.
Caring Together are part of the Carers Matter Norfolk partnership. Their role includes providing information and support for adults looking after an adult in Norfolk. See carersmatternorfolk.org.uk/ for more details on the support from Carers Matter Norfolk.
Caring Together also offer opportunities for young carers to have their voices heard through Norfolk Young Carers Forum.
To encourage and support the identification and supporting of carers Caring Together have the Carer Friendly Tick Award. This has categories for health, education, community organisations and employers. There is support to help organisations through the Carer Friendly Tick Award process including awareness-raising sessions, useful resources, and examples of what similar organisations have done.
In addition, Caring Together deliver homecare and other support for carers through their charitable activities.
To find out more go to caringtogether.org
NHS Community Trusts
East Coast Community Healthcare (ECCH)
East Coast Community Healthcare is shortly launching a Carer Support Nurse pilot to support unpaid carers within the Great Yarmouth and Northern Villages area. The pilot is designed to help unpaid carers who have their own health needs, or who need extra support for their caring role, that cannot be met by their usual healthcare team. The service webpage is currently under development. In the meantime, please visit our Feedback page.
Norfolk Community Health and Care NHS Trust (NCHC)
NCHC staff will help raise awareness of the Carers ID Passport with patients, carers and family members and signpost them to Carers Voice for details of how to apply. Volunteers in our clinic settings and community hospitals will also be on hand to help with raising awareness and signposting.
The quality of our services and the experience of our patients and carers is what counts the most. What you tell us about our services helps us to understand what we’re doing well, and where we need to raise our standards even higher. You can find more information on the ways we are working here: https://nchc-voice.tfemagazine.co.uk/september-2022
You can contact us on: 01603 693630 or email: patientexperience@nchc.nhs.uk