Warwickshire salutes the army of hidden carers
Warwickshire has paid tribute to its army of hidden carers and has pledged ongoing support to make carers’ lives easier.
Hundreds of people converged on the Ricoh arena on Friday 12 June for the Carers Conference organised by Warwickshire County Council.
Held to coincide with national Carers Week, the event highlighted and celebrated the huge contribution that carers make. Carers were given the chance to meet up with health professionals, voluntary organisations, local authorities and service providers.
They also watched short films of carers and dramatised interludes, performed by Odd Socks Theatre Company, which focused on the difficulties that carers experience every day.
Last year Warwickshire County Council asked carers what could be done to make their lives easier and is now working on 14 key priorities as part of a three-year strategy. In the last 12 months alone, a wide range of improvements have been made including better access to information, increased breaks for carers, more employment support, and stronger links with health professionals including GPs.
In a keynote speech, Dr Graeme Betts, Strategic Director for Adult, Health and Community Services at Warwickshire County Council, called for all partners to work together to improve the support for carers and pledged he would take this forward with Warwickshire’s Public Service Board.
He said: “Carers issues are everyone’s responsibility and we want to ensure that all major agencies, including health, adult social care, councils and large employers, work more closely together to provide the support that carers need.”
Carers are regarded as the UK’s secret service as many remain hidden and are unaware of the help available to them. There are 53,000 carers in Warwickshire, 10,000 of whom provide over 50 hours of care a week.
More information about carers’ support is available by contacting the customer first team on 01926 745142 or by visiting http://www.warwickshire.gov.uk/carers