New charter makes a commitment to carers
A new charter, co-produced by carers and staff at Norfolk and Suffolk NHS Foundation Trust, has been launched to make sure carers always feel valued and heard.
Carers and staff have been working together, led by insights from the Learning from Deaths Action Plan Management Group and the Carers of Serious Mental Illness (SMI) Norfolk and Waveney Healthwatch Group.
The charter will be officially launched by NSFT Chair Zoë Billingham at the Trust AGM on Thursday 9 October.
It was co-produced with carers to ensure their voices shaped every section and it will now guide staff in better identifying and involving carers, and in upholding their rights.
Zoë said: It has been very impressive to see carers and Trust staff working together on this important project and we are looking forward to seeing it put into operation to help carers get the best from NSFT.
Carers lead Julie Williams said: Carers have told us they often feel overlooked, undervalued, and excluded, especially during times of crisis and our data reflects this concern. Figures last October showed more than half of our assessment forms did not record a named carer, and only 4% identified a main carer in the system. This gap makes it harder to offer the right support.
The new charter, which was officially launched at NSFT's AGM, makes commitments to carers from NSFT on a whole range of measures including recognising and valuing cares, communicating clearly, involving carers in decision making and giving them practical and emotional support.
Carers play a vital role, contributing the equivalent of £445 million per day in unpaid care, yet they often don't know their rights or receive the support they need. The Carers Charter sets out clear, shared expectations to help carers feel heard, respected and involved, said Julie.
As we implement the charter, we expect to uncover wider system challenges. We will raise these with senior leaders, work with partners to find solutions, and keep carers informed so that trust and transparency are at the heart of our approach, said Julie.
Trevor Stevens was invited to join the charter planning group as a member of NSFT's Think Family and Carer Listening into Action team.
Trevor's daughter Tobi sadly took her own life, so he was able to bring his perspective as a bereaved father who had suffered from lack of involvement in his daughter's care. He was involved in lots of meetings where there were open and frank discussions involving a wide range of carers with different experiences of care within the Trust.
He said: The charter has the potential to be of huge benefit to carers as it states clearly the obligations of the Trust and the expectations that carers can have. Had those commitments been implemented during my daughter's care, it would have made a huge difference to our lives and could even have saved her life.
Carer and service user Debbie Brown has also been involved from the beginning of the project, sharing her thoughts and ideas every step along the way.
So often people become carers not knowing what to expect or what we may be entitled to from the hospital trust and the care that person receives, she said. This puts all the information in one place so it can be easily accessed to help carers and the hospital carry out their roles with a deeper understanding of how they can work together.
Pictured are rom left: NSFT CEO Caroline Donovan, carers lead Jill Curtis, Christine Rowley (Care for Carers), NSFT chair Zoë Billingham, carers lead Julie Williams and Peter Rowley from Care for Carers.