If you look after someone of any age and provide unpaid support to family or friends who could not manage without your help, then you are a carer. This could be caring for a relative, partner or friend who is ill, frail, disabled or has mental health or substance misuse problems.

Anyone can become a carer. Carers come from all walks of life, all cultures and can be of any age. If you are a carer, you probably feel that you are doing what anyone else would in the same situation; looking after your mother, son, or best friend and just getting on with it.

The position of ‘carer’ is not one that many apply for. Yet anyone can find themselves unexpectedly in this position – more than three in five of us will at some point find ourselves in such a role. In fact there are around six million carers in the UK who provide unpaid care and support to ill, frail or disabled friends or family members. Many carers are hidden, including very young people who care for parents and siblings.

 

Our commitment to you

We understand that families, friends and neighbours have an important role in meeting the care needs of many patients, both before admission to hospital and following discharge. We want to promote the health and independence of carers, by involving them during the patient’s stay in hospital, and planning his or her discharge home. We have developed a strategy which will tell you more about how we have committed ourselves to supporting the needs of carers.

If you are a carer and have to come into hospital it is important that you make hospital staff aware of your caring responsibilities. They will explain where carers can go to receive appropriate advice and support.

For practical information for carers about attending hospital please read our patient information leaflet.

Tell us your views

If you are a relative or carer who has visited our organisation with a person you care for please tell us about your experience by completing the Carers Experience Survey .

 

Patients with learning disabilities

If you are a person with a learning disability or a carer of a person with a learning disability please bring in your completed Hosptial Traffic Light Assessment

For more information about the assessment please contact:

Simon Shorrick

Strategic Health Facilitator

Health Facilitation Team

Learning Disability Services

Freephone: 0800 0193 2346

 

Patients with dementia

If you are a person with dementia or you care for a person with dementia please bring into your completed 'This is Me' leafet.

If you have been issued with a Living Well Handbook please bring this into hospital with you.

If you are carer or a relative of a person with dementia then please read the patient leaflet "Information to support the carer or relative of a patient with dementia". 

 Safeguarding Adults in Gloucestershire

Please click on the following link to view information about Safeguarding Adults in Gloucestershire

Useful links

Spiritual Care (link to our Spiritual Care pages on this website)

Positive Caring Programme: run by Gloucestershire County Council

Carers Gloucestershire

Carers Gloucestershire latest newsletter - Caring Matters

Carers Emergency Card Scheme

Gloucestershire Young Carers

Dementia web a dementia information resource for the people of Gloucestershire.

Dementia UK

Age UK

Alzheimers Society

Managing Memory Together