Carers Manifesto Statement

Thousands of people act as carers in Northern Ireland and carry an unacceptable burden in looking after sick and dependent relatives. There is a growing and welcome awareness within government and statutory agencies of the needs and value of carers, reflected in the current Promoting Social Inclusion working group. However, this must now quickly be converted into practical and positive impacts on their daily lives through the local implementation of services and policies by Health and Social Services Trusts.

Carers are individuals with their own needs who nevertheless care for others with a wide range of needs and abilities in what can be very complex and emotionally charged relationships. Carers have to be respected for their commitment to duty and recognised for taking on burdens which would otherwise fall to the statutory sector. Political parties should promote and meet the demands of carers as follows:

• A system of respite care should be developed and put in place which is adequate, flexible, reliable and of sufficient quality to meet the needs of carers and those they care for.
• A quality training programme should be put in place for carers based on their individual needs, which could be ascertained through a more thorough, in-depth carer’s assessment. This assessment must be made more widely available.
• Carers’ unpaid work must not substitute or replace proper statutory and professional provision when it is appropriate. Carers should be assisted to understand their rights as well as their responsibilities, to know what to expect of a quality service and be able to engage with health professionals to achieve that.
• Proper support services should be put in place and resourced to enable the provision of proper ongoing emotional support systems for carers.
• Carers have extensive information needs in terms of their rights and benefits as carers. They also have extensive information needs with regard to the people to whom they provide care across a range of health and social issues. An integrated information system for carers should be put in place. Information should be timely and appropriate and it should be provided through a range of mechanisms to ensure maximum coverage. The development of relevant community and primary health care professionals and support organisations is important as they have a critical role in channelling information to carers in isolation.
• Support organisations should be properly resourced to enable proactive work to combat the isolation of individual carers and the feeling that often no-one cares for them.