Do you need a helping hand to carry on your carer role?

Caring for the Carer is a short-term carer support service and will provide extra respite to give you, the carer, some breathing space to do whatever you need to do. You can get free support through the service.

As a carer you often do everything you can to minimise the need for formal care and support for the person you look after, but every now and then there comes a time when you need help. When that happens, you need help NOW.

Presently no statutory funding for such support exists, but we want to change that: Caring for the Carer is aimed at better understanding the needs of rural carers and finding out what sort of support you want:

• Short term emergency care?
• Respite?
• Frequent breaks?
• ‘Me time’ to give you some breathing space to carry on?

Who is a carer?

Any person of any age who provides unpaid support to friends or family members who can’t manage without help around due to:

• Long term illness
• Short term emergency
• Disability
• Mental health problems
• Addictions

How it works

The service is free and you can self-refer by calling Krystle or Kareen on:

07394 965042

We’ll work with you there and then to decide what help you need and every effort will be made to get you that help within a couple of days.

The service and will cover the following area:

Data Protection

Read our Caring for the Carer Data Protection Policy on what information we hold, how we use it and your rights.

NHS Highland Carer Improvement Group

Under Section 27 of the Carers (Scotland) Act 2016 local authorities and relevant health boards have a duty to involve carers around carer’s services and are required to include consideration around:

• What needs might call for the provision of services
• What services might be provided to meet those needs
• How those services might be provided
• How the provision of those services might be evaluated

To ensure that the development of a carers’ programme and new carers’ services listen to the needs and wishes of carers and carer representatives, the NHS Highland Carers Improvement Group have identified the trialling of a number of pilot projects as a means to collecting evidence to tell us what carers need.

Caring for the Carer is one of the pilots and is entirely based on needs expressed by carers living in a remote, rural community to prevent them reaching crisis point and feeling they have nowhere to turn for help.  It is envisaged that if successful, the pilot will be rolled out across all of rural Highlands.