Emergencies

For many carers, knowing that the person you look after will be cared for in an emergency is a major concern. An emergency can be anything from a broken-down car or a late train delaying you for a few hours, to more serious problems such as a crisis among your family or a hospital stay for you.

If you have other people who share caring duties with you, discuss with them whether you will fill the gap for each other if one of you can't be there. If you don't have anyone to help you, or would like extra peace of mind, a carers emergency scheme can help.

Usually, you will be asked to register with your local scheme. One of its skilled workers will help you to write out an emergency plan. This will vary depending on your circumstances, and may change as your situation changes. Some schemes review emergency plans every year. Ask if this is the case with your scheme.

How you will be supported

The emergency support offered to carers varies depending on where you live. In some areas of England, there are two levels of care to choose from. In level one, you give two contact names (and numbers) of relatives, friends or neighbours. The people you nominate must be willing to check on the person you care for if you're not able to do so.

If the person you look after needs a lot of care, level two may be better. This gives you a support worker to take over if you have to go to hospital or deal with another emergency. The support worker is supplied by the local authority and would take over from you for 48 hours.

In other areas of England, carers emergency schemes provide plans for three different situations. The first is if the carer is going to be late home, the second is if the carer has to be away overnight (in hospital for instance), and the third option is for a longer-term plan, to cover more serious situations.

The emergency plans you make will be held by the carers emergency scheme, which provides a 24-hour response. Every carer who is registered with a scheme is given a card with their scheme’s phone number and their own unique identification number. If there is an emergency, the carer (or someone nearby, if they're incapacitated) calls the emergency scheme. Once the operator has checked the unique personal number they arrange emergency care as requested in the plans.

Carer emergency cards

A lot of organisations provide carers with carers emergency cards, showing your emergency contacts, to carry with you. If you have an accident or are suddenly taken ill, the emergency services will find the card and know that you care for someone. However, these cards do not have the 24-hour phone back-up of a carers emergency scheme.

Watch the video below to see how a carer has benefitted from the peace of mind offered by a local carers' emergency scheme.