Informal Carers Flashcards
What is “informal care”?
Care BY the community i.e. based on kinship obligations between family members
Usually immediate family
What is the purpose of the “needs assessment” and who is involved?
Service users and their carers involved
Designed to reduce changes of readmission
What is the purpose of the Community Care Act (1990)?
“Who provides formal care?”
To help prioritise groups such as the dependent elderly, people with physical and learning disabilities and people with long-term mental health problems
To live as independently as possible, either in their own homes or residential homes
How is Social Care usually defined?
In terms of provision of Long Term Care or Support
Define Long Term Support
Any service which is provided with the intention of maintaining quality of life for an individual on an ongoing bases
Which has been allocated on the basis of eligibility criteria i.e. an assessment of needs has taken place and is subject to regular review
What explains the reduction in people receiving long term care?
Increase in provision of rehabilitation services outside of a formal assessment process
Raised eligibility criteria for services
Reduced funding/resources for councils
Primary client types by percentage
Physical disability (66%) Mental health (20%) Learning disability (12%) Other vulnerable people (2%)
What Community Services are provided to clients?
Home care Equipment and adaptations Meals-on-Wheels Professional support Day care
Caring about Carers (1999) strategy
Carers should be supported in combining paid employment with their caring responsibilities
Carers to be informed and consulted about professional decision-making concerning those they care for
HCPs to be encouraged to consider health of carers as part of their responsibility
Support provided to carers to be enhanced e.g. housing adaptations, training and provision of regular breaks
What does the Carers (Equal Opportunities) Acts (2005) state?
All carers are to be informed of their entitlement to an assessment of their needs
Council to consider carer’s outside interests (work/study/leisure) when carrying out assessment
Joint working between NHS and local council
What does the Care Act (2014) state?
Responsibilities for LAs to prevent, reduce or delay need for care and support for all local people
Principle of individual wellbeing
Statutory requirement for LAs to collaborate, cooperate and integrate with other public authorities e.g. health and housing
Seamless transition for young people moving to adult social care services
What does “individual wellbeing” refer to?
Personal dignity
Physical and mental health and emotional wellbeing
Protection from abuse and neglect
Control by the individual over day-to-day life (including over care and support)
Participation in work, education, training or recreation
Social and economic wellbeing
Domestic, family and personal relationships
Suitability of living accommodation
The individual’s contribution to society
Financial impacts of being an informal carer
Can impose a heavy financial, physical and psychological strain on carers
77% of carers financially worse off, despite receiving carer’s allowance
Carers may need to purchase products/services to benefit individual being cared for, which is not funded by government
Physical impacts of being an informal carer
Physical labour involved in meeting the ADL for relatively immobile person can be considerable + demanding for carers (often elderly themselves) - can lead to carers developing health problems
Changing clothes, showering, eating and other everyday tasks all need attention and help to achieve therefore putting a huge burden on carer physically
Health of carers is more likely to deteriorate over time than the health of non-carers
Psychological impacts of being an informal carer
Giving up career and taking up unpaid care remains undervalued in society - potential loss of social status (inability to socialise or fulfil roles like normal) and self-esteem
Other outside leisure and friendships may have to be curtailed in order to meet needs of person being cared for
Caring relationships between partners and family are reciprocal (sharing the duties of everyday life). Tensions can develop due to increasing dependency of recipient of care in relationship
Individuals who become physically dependent on their partner may feel frustration and anger with their condition which they cannot express to them
Keeping feelings bottled in can lead to irritability, short temper or even health problems such as depression
When caring for family members with a mental health problem, carers may find themselves stigmatised because they are seen to be responsible for bringing about the mental health problem in the first place
