Carer Friendly Tick Award - Health

Carer Friendly TickHealthHealth

© Caring Together

Carer Friendly Tick Award - HealthToolkit to support applications

Carer Friendly Tick Award - Health

ContentsWelcome 2Process for achieving the award 3Standard one 4Standard two 4Standard three 8Standard four 9Standard five 11Online and hard copy resources 12Acknowledgements 12Feedback from healthcare settings 13

WelcomeThe Carer Friendly Tick Award is an accreditation, comprising of four key areas: Communities, Education, Employers and Health. The award is assessed by carers and intended to be simple to understand and implement. It takes only a few steps but makes a real difference for carers. It is designed to help those who are unsure of how to identify and support carers in your setting or, for those already supporting carers, a way to recognise your great work.

The Carer Friendly Tick Award – Health is designed to provide organisations with an emphasis on local and relevant standards which carers feel are necessary to ensure they are easily identified and properly supported within healthcare settings.

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63%of carers

have a long-term health condition or

disability1

1 GP Patient Survey, 20192 Carers UK, 20163 Carers UK, 20184 Carers UK, 2020

8 out of 10carers

feel isolated3

3 in 5of us will be a carer at some

point in our lives2

42%of carers

are male4



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Process for achieving the award

Carer Friendly TickHealthHealth

© Caring Together

Complete and submit the application form along with any supporting evidence.

3. Application form

Have a conversation with a member of Caring Together staff.

1. Contact 2. Meet the standards

Talk to a member of the team on how we can support you.

The application is assessed by a panel of carers.

4. Assessment

If your application is not successful• We will support you to address opportunities as recommended by the

panel.• We will support you in amending your application.• You can then re-submit your application.

If your application is successful• You will receive a certificate.• You will receive the Carer Friendly Tick logo in both JPEG

and EPS format. The EPS file is for use by high quality print, if required.

• You will be added to our hall of fame on the Caring Together website.

• You will be contacted by our engagement team regarding publicity, including social media.

• The award is for a period of two years after which time you will be required to reapply for the award.


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Standard oneName a member of your organisation or team as a champion for carers.

We very much want to encourage culture change; this means that whoever is nominated as carer champion has support from your whole organisation.

This will include any leadership teams and senior managers that need to be engaged in the process. Also, accessing our awareness training will lead to a more cohesive approach to implementing positive changes for carers.

The carers’ champion could be anyone within your organisation – the most important thing is that they want to do it!

Standard twoHave a carers’ statement in place to outline how you support carers.

We are not looking for a legal document. Ideally, we would like this agreement to be implemented in conjunction with any carers that have been identified. If you currently do not have any carers identified, start off with just a few ideas and then build on the agreement once you have identified some carers.

There is no one size fits all around your organisation’s agreement, it is about what will work well for your environment.

If you wish to call it an agreement or a policy, it is up to you and the carers to decide.

Think about the carer journey through your organisation

• What would help the pathway through your organisation, for example, identification of carers?

• What policies are in place for carers?• What referral systems are in place for carers?• What ongoing support do you provide for carers?• Do you hold events or activities to raise awareness for carers?


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Example one of a carers’ agreement

From an organisation who have achieved the Carer Friendly Tick Award - Health

• We will identify carers and young carers by having carer forms to complete, these forms are included in our registration packs, and we have forms in the waiting room with ad hoc conversations within a consultation or discussion with our care navigators. We have also made contact with the lead mentor at our local secondary school; we are also in the process of making contact with the primary schools in order for them to have a contact.

• As a practice we will be aware:• Once a patient has completed a form this will be passed to the practice carers

champion. This information will then be coded on to the computer system.• Our carer register will be reviewed on a monthly basis. • Carers are entitled to annual health checks if requested and influenza

immunisations. • The carers champion will refer into Caring together where the carer has

specifically asked us to do so, and depending on their needs will refer to other support networks. We have dedicated carer’s pack of information which will be sent to the carer once we have received the carers form.

• At the practice we have a dedicated carer’s board to raise awareness of any support groups, meetings or events on carer days.

• For Carers week and Young Carers Action Day there will also be a further dedicated board and we will be posting these events on our social media page.

• All staff members do regular training on carer awareness and dementia awareness.

Example two of a carers’ agreement

This agreement was put together by xxxx xxxxxxx and includes feedback from carers who attend our monthly carers’ gatherings and is available to read on our carers’ noticeboard.

Identification of new carers A carer does not have to be registered at the surgery and can be young or old, of any age, gender, sexual orientation and from any culture or background. The carer must provide unpaid support to relatives or friends who could not manage without this help due to illness, misuse of drugs or alcohol, disability or mental ill-health.

New carer identification can be identified in the following ways: • Following consultation with a doctor. • District nurse or health professional referral.• Self-referral either by media publication or surgery carers’ noticeboard. • Phone consultation. • Registration forms contain a tick box for new carers to tick so they can be

identified as a carer. • Home visits.

A read code (UB1JU) will be added to a new carer’s medical record for a doctor to identify them as a new carer. This code also entitles the carer for an annual flu vaccination. This code will also be deleted from the carers’ register should their role as a carer cease to exist.

Carers referral formThese are available from reception or the carers noticeboard.

Carers’ supportHere at xxxxxxx Medical Practice we do the utmost we can to support our carers. We have a noticeboard especially dedicated to carers offering support and advice for existing carers and new carers to be. We hold monthly carers gatherings in the surgery where carers can come along, have some light refreshments and meet other people in the same predicament as themselves and offer support to one another. We also advertise these meetings in Over and Swavesey surgeries as we are the only local surgery to offer these gatherings. Details of the gatherings can be found on the carers’ noticeboard in the surgery, in many village news booklets and on our company website. Our carers lead, xxxx xxxxxxx, is very happy to discuss what we have to offer to new carers and inform them of organisations that can be of help to them.


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Caring TogetherWe also work closely with Caring Together who are a leading charity and provider of carer support for families. They have a number of services to offer including the ‘What If’ Plan which can provide emergency support to the person you care for in the event of you being unable to care due to sudden illness, accident, or other unplanned event. xxxx xxxxxxx is happy to register you with Caring Together or you can call their information, advice and guidance team on 0345 241 0954

Family Carers’ PrescriptionsA Family Carers’ Prescription will be offered to a new carer. Carers choose whether they wish to self-refer or liaise with our carer’s lead, xxxx xxxxxxx, who will confidentially complete the administrative tasks in hand for Caring Together who will get in touch with the carer to offer their services.

Citizens Advice BureauThe Citizens Advice Bureau visit the surgery twice a month and are a valuable source of information for our carers offering free confidential support and advice. This is advertised on our website and in many village newsletters. Many carers do not realise they are entitled to carers allowance and are missing out on vital financial support they could be entitled to.

Adult care social servicesWe are also happy to put our carers in touch with Adult Care Social Services who can offer support, advice, and can also organise a carer’s assessment.

Patient participation meetingsxxxxxxx Medical Practice also holds a monthly Patient Participation meeting where a member of the carers helpers’ team can attend and can bring to light any issues we have concerning carers and also gain any relevant feedback for us.

From an organisation who have achieved the Carer Friendly Tick Award - Health


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Standard threeCover issues relating to carers in staff training and staff meetings.

To successfully support carers in healthcare settings, all staff and/or volunteers, need to be aware of how to identify and support carers.

Having this culture change in your setting should also give carers and their families the confidence to identify themselves and seek support.

Staff and volunteer awarenessWe deliver the initial staff and volunteers awareness training either online or face to face, and our expectation moving forward, is that you would continue this within your organisation as mandatory training. We are happy to supply the PowerPoint to assist you in this process. The purpose of the training is to help identify and understand the impacts of being a carer. This includes information to support carers in the local area.

Please note that there is no cost attached to any staff awareness training, and the sessions last around one hour

Feedback from our training

“It was really helpful and enlightening to hear from a

carer’s perspective.”

“Excellent training.”

“I found the session very interesting, it will be very useful

in my volunteering role on the wards.”

To book training please contact Caring Together on 0345 241 0954 or

[email protected]


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Standard fourDisplay information about carers, as well as projects that support them locally.

This can come in many forms, it can be a screen capture of your intranet, or website or any photos of hard copy displays that support carers.

Example of a display board

Example of a display board


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Example of a website

Examples of posters available from Caring Together

Contact us to find out how

we can help you

Looking after

someone?

We can help you

0345 241 0954

[email protected]

caringtogether.org

We offer a range of support

for carers and people they

care for including:

• Care in your home and

comm

unity for adults

and children

• Information, advice and

guidance to help you in

your caring role

• Dedicated staff to

identify and arrange

support for you.

Contact us to find out how

we can help you



care for including:


community for adults

and children• Information, advice and


your caring role



support for you. 0345 241 [email protected]

caringtogether.org

Looking after someone?

We can help you

Contact us to find out how we can help you

Looking after someone?We can help you

0345 241 [email protected]

We offer a range of support for carers and people they care for including:• Care in your home and community for adults and children• Information, advice and guidance to help you in your caring role• Dedicated staff to

identify and arrange support for you.Contact us to find out how

we can help you



care for including:


community for adults

and children

• Information, advice and


your caring role



support for you.

0345 241 0954

[email protected]

caringtogether.org

Looking

after someone?

We can help you

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NHS definition of a carerA carer is anyone, including children and adults who looks after a family member, partner or friend who needs help because of their illness, frailty, disability, a mental health problem or an addiction and cannot cope without their support. The care they give is unpaid. Many carers juggle their caring responsibilities with work, study and other family commitments. Carers often don’t tell relatives, friends or health and care professionals about their responsibilities because of a fear of separation, guilt, pride or other reasons.

This means that the sort of roles and responsibilities that carers have to provide varies widely. They can range from help with everyday tasks such as getting out of bed and personal care such as bathing, to emotional support such as helping someone cope with the symptoms of a mental illness.

(NHS, 2020)


Standard fiveRaise awareness in Carers Week, on Young Carers Action Day and Carers Rights Day.

Health awarenessIt’s just as important to help raise awareness of carers throughout the year, particularly around key dates such as Carers Week, Carers Rights Day and Young Carers Action Day.

This could range from:• Information stands at events, fêtes and coffee mornings to help make sure

people know about carers and support available.• Dress down Friday to help generate conversations around carers.• Sponsored events or other fundraising events such as raffles or cake stalls to

raise the profile of carers, but also help to raise money to support more carers.

In the run-up to these key carer awareness dates, our fundraising and engagement team will send out information to Carer Friendly Tick Award holders, including resources you can use on social media, and, suggestions on what you can to do help, which could include sharing information, attending an event, or engaging in some fundraising. This will help to continue raising awareness of carers in your setting, but also the wider community.

If you need ideas on what your organisation can do to help, do contact the team who will be more than happy to help.

@ [email protected]

CaringTogetherCharity

CaringTogether

Caringtogether

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Example of a cake stall

mailto:[email protected]

https://www.facebook.com/CaringTogetherCharity

https://twitter.com/CaringTogether

https://www.instagram.com/caringtogether/

Online resourcesYou can find out more about the Carer Friendly Tick Award on our website at

caringtogether.org/carer-friendly-tick

Services provided by Caring TogetherPlease visit our website at caringtogether.org to find out about the full range of support we offer carers including:• Information, advice and guidance to help you in your caring role.• Care in your home and community for adults and children.• Dedicated staff to identify and arrange support for you.• Local carer groups and support from other carers.• Tailored services for young carers and young adult carers.• Help to plan for the unexpected.• Immediate support in a crisis.• Carer’s card.

Please note that some services may not be available in all geographical areas.

Call our carer helpline on 0345 241 0954 or 01480 499090 to find out more about the relevant services in your area.

Hard copy resourcesIf you would like a hard copy of resources, please email [email protected] stating your name, organisation and area.

AcknowledgementsWe would like to thank all contributors for their help in the production of this toolkit.

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https://www.caringtogether.org/carer-friendly-tick

https://www.caringtogether.org



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Feedback from healthcare settings who have achieved the Carer Friendly Tick Award

“Working through each part of the Carer Friendly Tick Award, which was designed with carers, has helped staff to realise the importance of identifying carers and working in partnership

with them; involving a carer from the moment of a patient’s admission to hospital until discharge

has been proven to improve quality of care, lead to improved patient outcomes, expedite discharge pathways and helps prevent failed discharges.”

“Completing the award was an easy and straight forward process which was well worth doing

because awards such as this continue to highlight the importance of supporting carers who without

any support too often become our patients.”

“We completed the Carer Friendly Tick Award in 2019, working with Caring Together to help raise

awareness and support carers in the hospital setting. This was so carers can be welcomed and accepted as partners in care, offered initial help and support and signposted on to organisations, such as Caring Together, for continued support in

the community.”

“We found the awareness training useful. This will always be revisited during safeguarding training

moving forward - pointing out that carers are a vulnerable group.”


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T 01480 499090 or 0345 241 0954E [email protected]

Unit 4, Meadow Park, Meadow Lane, St Ives PE27 4LG

Caring Together CharityCharity Registration Number 1091522

Company Registration Number 4379948

© 2021 Caring Together Charity Ver 1.0 Mar 2021

https://twitter.com/CaringTogether

https://www.facebook.com/CaringTogetherCharity

https://www.instagram.com/caringtogether/


https://www.caringtogether.org/

Documents

Carer Friendly Tick Award - Health