Findings from a focus group of young carers into the health and social care services they use
Download (PDF 1.03 MB)Summary of report content
Heathwatch Reading aimed to find out which local health and social care services, young carers use, and their experience of these, in order to indicate to health and social commissioners what may or may not be working for young carers and to identify issues that might need exploring in larger studies in the future.
The main findings in the report inform young carers’ main responsibilities were helping with food shopping, and providing emotional support to parents or siblings. The services/support used by young carers (ranked from most to least) were: young carers’ after-school groups, social workers, teachers, friends, the Internet, school nurse, neighbour, playworker, and a youth club. None of the young carers said they had used or had contact with a GP in relation to their young carer’s role. The most popular support was young carers’ groups; young carers gave mixed reviews of the support from social workers and teachers. Top of the young carers’ ‘wish-list’ for improvements, is a desire for their relatives to be better, for home improvements to aid mobility of relatives, care worker assistance to go on family trips away, and more school-based support, especially to help tackle bullying from peers.
The recommendations informed Reading Borough Council (RBC) should continue to fund young carer’s groups, and if possible, expand capacity, to cut waiting lists and reach more children. Education, health and social care leaders should hold talks about the possibility of increasing school-based support to young carers, such as increased school nurse availability, support workers and/or young carers’ clubs based at school, information talks at assemblies and/or in PHSE lessons, and policies on teacher identification/referral/management of young carers among their pupils. Berkshire West Clinicial Commissioning Groups (CCGs), which oversees carers’ health issues on behalf of Reading’s two CCGs, should commission a study into the health needs of young carers, to identify any unmet needs and service gaps. Older young carers should be given support as they transition into becoming adult carers.