Do you help someone in their day-to-day life? Perhaps with their shopping, getting out and about, keeping on top of their bills or medication? Or perhaps you keep them company if they can’t get out much, or help them with personal care or housework?
It could be a member of your family that you help, or a friend or neighbour. You may help them occasionally, or it may be that most of your time is spent looking after them because they are unable to take care of themselves. You may receive some kind of payment for helping them, or like many in our community, you do what you do simply because you care. Or perhaps you are a former carer, with experience of caring for someone at any point over the last five years?
We have launched an exciting new opportunity called ‘Carers Voices’ and would really like to hear from you about your experiences. We want to know what you feel works well, or not so well, for you and the person you are helping/have helped. We are working in partnership with Essex County Council and other agencies to make sure that your voice is heard and used to ensure that services and support are developed to meet the needs of the many people in Essex, like you, who care about others. There will be a range of ways to share your thoughts, from joining group discussions to responding to surveys and polls.
Get In Touch
We really do value your input as an Expert by Experience in helping to make the changes and have the impact that is needed. If you would like to have a broader discussion about this topic, we would be delighted to have a chat at a time that works for you. Please get in touch by telephoning 0300 500 1895 or email us at [email protected].
Current Focus Groups
Please note that our next focus group, due to be held at St Clare’s Hospice on Tuesday 12th November 2-4pm, has been postponed until 2025. Please get in touch if you would like to be kept informed of any updates.
It’s an opportunity for carers to have their say on what’s working well or not so well in their caring role, in a safe space with peer-to-peer support. We’ll provide light refreshments and a listening ear. There are limited spaces so for more information and to book a space please email [email protected].
Current Surveys
Your answers are anonymous and will help to influence positive changes in the services provided for carers and their loved ones. If you require a survey in a different format please contact the Healthwatch Essex Carers Voices team on using the information above.
Young Carer Survey – If you are a young carer, we want to find out how your caring experiences affect your wellbeing, your hobbies, your relationships, your education, as well as any other experiences you would like to share.
Take part in the Young Carers survey here.
Impact
Carer’s Week – For Carer’s Week 2024, we recorded a podcast and TikToks with Michelle, who is one of our Experts by Experience. Michelle cares for her children who have ARFID and Perthes’ disease. She also spoke to BBC Essex about her experiences.
We also shared a blog post from one of our Trauma Ambassadors, Megan, about the experience of becoming a young carer.
Carers Conference – Carers have shared their experiences of caring and domestic abuse through written accounts and videos for Essex County Council’s Domestic Abuse and Carers Conference 2024.
‘Susan’s Law’ – At a recent Healthwatch Essex focus group for unpaid Carers, one carer having recently found the time, opportunity and a break from caring to seek support, verbalised that she felt out of place as most other people attending were wearing lanyards or name badges and therefore ‘professional’ and felt the experiences of other carers present, were far more pressing and important than her caring responsibilities. This was a defining moment for the Carers Voice Team and from that day we vowed to create an environment of trust and foster confidence in Carers to speak freely about their experiences without judgement. We judged that minimising the wearing of lanyards and badges where possible reduced the impact of feeling overwhelmed by professionals and improved the feedback from those present. No one, and especially carers, should feel uncomfortable and this intervention became the basis for “Susan’s Law” and we are actively working on implementing Susan’s Law in an official capacity.
Useful Resources
Here are some resources that may be helpful:
- Think Carers Pocket Guide
- Template letter to register as a carer with your GP surgery
- Carers Card
- Carers Emergency Planning form
Read our latest Carers Voices newsletters for more updates: