The East Lothian Carers' Strategy

Overview

The East Lothian Carers' Strategy is about making sure there is a clear understanding of what being a carer means and that carers get the information, advice and support they need, when they need it. It looks at the role that communities, schools, community services, health & social care services, third and independent sectors and employers should play in supporting carers.

Carers can be any age frome really young children to much older people. Carers care for parents, partners, brothers & sisters, children and other family members and friends. They are not paid for the care they provide, and the people they care for have a range of needs. The people cared for can be any age and might have long-term or short-term health conditions, physical or learning disabilities, mental health or substance misuse problems. Carers provide all sorts of care, including physical, personal and emotional support. They might also be doing things like shopping, cleaning and taking the person they care for to medical and other appointments. Some carers do this regularly, and some do it all the time.

Some people find caring manageable and rewarding. Others find it difficult to manage to the extent that it makes them ill. Lots of carers lie somewhere in the middle - they have good days and bad days and that balance can easily shift.

What is clear is that caring may (and in many cases does) have an impact on the carer's own life, choices, employment, education, health and wellbeing.

Our Vision for Carers - Carers of all ages across East Lothian are able to access the help and support they need, when they need it, to maintain their quality of life, health and wellbeing, however they define it. They will be able to maintain their daily life, relationships, physical, psychological and social health. 

Our Strategy sets out how, working in partnership, we believe we can achieve this. The final version of the Strategy has incorporated the feedback received from our initial consultation from 1st April - 30th June 2018.

You can download a copy of the final version of the strategy or the summary document under 'Related' below.

What Happens Next?

We will be preparing an Action Plan in order to implement the strategy. Feedback received from this consultation will be able to be incorporated into the Action Plan and this will be available on the Council website.