Are you a carer?

Professionals can provide you with information and advice to enable you to make informed choices, such as how to access services, help with completing an Adult Carer Support Plan and information on short breaks. Every carer can access information and advice from Lanarkshire Carers.

Carers can access the Carer Training Programme provided by Lanarkshire Carers that covers a range of topics to help them feel confident in their caring role and to look after their own health and wellbeing. The programme provides a range of topics such as moving and handling, practical first aid, sleep workshops, Makaton, understanding Autism and Dementia Awareness. There are also courses to help to promote your general health and wellbeing, such as art workshops, meditation, and mindfulness courses.

When you become a carer, or your caring role changes, it may affect your finances. We have a team of dedicated welfare rights officers in the Money Matters Advice Service who can help you with a benefits check.

Carers can ask for a review of their current and potential benefits entitlement. Although the benefits system can be complicated, they could help to increase your household income and can sometimes help protect your State Pension entitlement in the future, depending on your circumstances.

Money Is Not The Only Problem is a new online resource that you can access to get the help, support and guidance that is available to you and your family regarding finances and wellbeing. There is a wealth of information and contact details for a range of topics, such as money, housing, wellbeing, healthy eating, funerals, employment, and education.

Lanarkshire Carers Flexible Support Fund is funded by South Lanarkshire University Health and Social Care Partnership. It can support carers going through financial hardship and distress.

Taking a break from caring can sometimes be challenging due to personal circumstances or the nature of the caring role, but it is important that carers take some time out now and again. A short break should be designed around the carer; it should reflect their individual goals. Choice and flexibility are central to short breaks for carers. Alternatively, the carer and cared-for person can go away together.

For more information, please read our Short Break Services Statement.

As a carer you need to know that if an emergency happens you have a plan in place to deal with the situation.

If an emergency happens a plan can help ease your worries if you are not able to care for the person you look after either in the long or short term.

Future Care Planning is what used to be known as “Anticipatory Care Planning.” These plans will gradually be replaced with “ReSPECT,” which stands for “Recommended Summary Plan for Emergency Care and Treatment.” This new programme aims to help everyone get the right care at the right time, in the right place.

Carers are able to create plans that can involve their friends or family, or you may need the reassurance of involvement from the Health and Social Care Partnership in case your informal arrangements cannot meet your needs at any point. The plan will hold lots of details about the person you look after that will ensure this information can be easily accessed if needed.

Enable Scotland has developed some emergency planning resources that can support you to create an emergency plan that make provisions for occasions where you are unable to fulfil your caring role. Lanarkshire Carers can also help you with this.

The Lanarkshire Carers Carer Card enables carers to access a wide range of offers and discounts from a variety of local retailers, suppliers, and services. Any carer who lives in Lanarkshire, is over 18 and is a member of Lanarkshire Carers can request a card. Carers can enjoy benefits and discounts across a wide range of services, such as massage and beauty therapists, chiropractors, Solicitors, hairdressing, and gyms.

Advocacy support does not guarantee a successful outcome, but it does give a carer an assurance that they have been listened to. You, the carer, decide what you want to say; advocacy supports you to do it. Advocacy services listen to what a carer has to say about their circumstances, helping carers to identify and prioritise issues allowing carers to deal with the challenges they face with greater confidence. Advocacy is provided to priority groups, some who cannot advocate for themselves due to a disability, long term condition, dementia, or mental ill health. We have commissioned Equal Say to provide Advocacy support to carers in South Lanarkshire.

The Coalition of Carers In Scotland, in partnership with Marie Curie, have created a guide called What to expect when caring for someone with a terminal illness containing more information and where to go for advice and support.

Coping with grief will mean trying to find a balance between your emotions and managing practical day to day life. This can be especially hard If you are dealing with other pressures. Services dedicated to providing bereavement support to Carers are provided by The Haven.

Lanarkshire Carer members can access a free 20-minute Legal Clinic appointment with a solicitor. These sessions can be used to discuss matters such as Power of Attorney/Guardianship, will writing and other legal matters. For more information, please visit the Lanarkshire Carers website.

For more information on Power Of Attorney, please visit our dedicated page.

Carers have the right to be informed, heard and their views considered and should be involved in the discharge process. This applies for planned or unscheduled admissions and where it is likely that you will be providing care after the person you care for is discharged. The NHS has a duty to inform and involve you in the discharge planning.

Healthcare professionals should have an early conversation with you to inform you of the discharge date and hear your views to plan for the right supports to be put in place following discharge. Being involved in discharge planning will help you be better prepared and will help ensure the person you care for has support to help them at home after discharge. It also means you can inform staff about how things are at home, you can find out about follow up plans, appointments, and medication.

You should be asked about the support and services you as a carer might need. Lanarkshire Carers have a dedicated hospital support team to assist you as a carer.

We use Recite Me to help people use our website to do the things they need to do. It can be used to:

• Have the text on our website read aloud (including most downloads)
• Download the text as an MP3 file to play it where and when it suits you.
• Change font sizes and colour.
• Customise background colour.
• Translate text into more than 100 different languages.

More information on our translation and interpreting services can be found at Translation and Interpretation Services.

Lanarkshire Carers has an Equality and Diversity Carer Support Service. The work they do includes supporting minority ethnic backgrounds, as well as other groups facing barriers such as LGBTQ+. This includes provision of information and support in multiple languages (including phone support in Urdu, Punjabi, and Hindi) as well as engagement, consultation and awareness raising with minority communities at cultural events and other forums.

There is a range of care services in South Lanarkshire provided by voluntary organisations, community groups and private companies that can help you as a carer and the person you support. Some examples include care homes, care at home, befriending, meals delivery and small repairs services. We have included a selection of links to directories and websites that can help you find the right support for you in our useful “contacts and resources” page.

Take Control is a Self-Directed Support Service that provides all eligible people to explore all the options of SDS to promote independent living by helping people access information, skills, and support to overcome barriers and make informed choices. This includes assistance with the recruitment of Personal Assistants and payroll.

There is a wide range of services and supports offered to support you and the person/people you care for to enable them to live as independently as possible from home. This ranges from day opportunities, community alarms, assistive technology, equipment, adaptations. help with personal care and/or self-directed support funding options.

This is usually accessed through Social Work Resources via an assessment. For more details, please visit our social work pages.