Agenda item

Kim Curry, Director of Commissioning and Partnerships presented the submitted report in relation to the Joint Rotherham Carers Strategy 2008-2011.

Carers in Rotherham save the local economy £462 million per year which is an average of £15,260 per carer.  Of those carers over 7,000 provide over 50 hours of care per week, and it is anticipated that every year, in Rotherham another 8,000 people become carers.  This number was likely to rise over the next 10-15 years.

The purpose of the 2005-2008 strategy was to help Rotherham’s health and social care economy (statutory and voluntary) to support carers, so that those who wished to could continue to provide care.  Whilst there were many issues that affect all carers, the strategy acknowledged both the uniqueness of each individual carer’s situation and the specific needs of individual who was cared for.  Annual action plans made the process more accessible to scrutiny through monitoring the delivery of value for money services that met identified needs.

During the course of the last year a number of significant achievements had been delivered which included:

• The number of carers who had received an assessment or review of their needs in the last year had doubled
• A 24/7 emergency response service for all carers had been provided with access to home based respite when required
• Training opportunities for carers on a broader base of relevant issues such as the implications of the Mental Capacity Act had been expanded
• Support had been given to the continuation and enhancement of the Carers Information Centre which now had fully trained volunteers
• Establishing the Carers Leads Group which involved representatives from all Council Directorates, the Primary Care Trust and the Acute Trust.

Consultation had taken place with carers and statutory organisations throughout the year and a provisional action plan had been developed for the next 3 years.

The Carers Strategy had 7 main objectives which had been informed by Rotherham carers and the national strategy.  The strategy will provide carers with:-

• Better access to information
• Training and support for the caring role
• Assessment and early intervention
• Flexible support services
• Better access to health services
• Training, employment and financial support and Protection and support for young carers

The current strategy was at the end of its intended focus and as the new National Carers Strategy was being developed, the action plan for 2008/09 would change radically and be incorporated into a new Joint Rotherham Carers Strategy 2008-2011. 

A successful “Who Cares” event took place in July 2008 to consult on the implications of the new strategy and what action needed to be taken to enhance current services.  This had been enhanced by a series of smaller focus groups around health, financial, community employment, training and equalities issues.

There were a number of actions identified which had an impact on the use of resources.  These will be addressed through existing resources which were supplemented by the Carers Grant.  Rotherham had been allocated:

• 2008/2009                             £1,243,000
• 2009/2010                             £1,333,000
• 2010/2011                             £1,427,000

A question and answer session ensued and the following issues were discussed:-

• How the carers grant funding would be utilised.  It was confirmed that it would only be spent on those issues which had been raised by carers
• What was the ratio of male and female carers?  It was felt that there was a need to profile male carers better.
• How were emergency carers informed when they had been accepted on to the register?
• It was felt that there was a need to encourage more people to request assessment as some people didn’t realise that they were carers.

Resolved:- (1) That the report be received, and the Joint Rotherham Carers Strategy be accepted as a replacement of the recent 2005/08 Strategy.

(2) That the performance to date and proposed actions be noted.