Do you look after someone?
A carer is anyone, including a child or young person, who looks after a family member, partner or friend and is not paid for this.
The person may need help because of their illness, frailty, disability, a mental health problem or an addiction and could not cope without the support of their carer.
The care given is unpaid and may include emotional support or help with shopping, cooking, dealing with medication or attending medical appointments with the person they care for.
Many people do not see themselves as carers but as simply fulfilling family duties. For example:
- Young people caring for a parent
- Parents of disabled children
- Older couples who see caring for each other as a natural part of their lives
- And people from some cultures may not recognise the concept of “a carer”.
Eastwood Primary Care Centre recognises the value of all unpaid carers. Please let the surgery know if you look after someone. We will add you to our Carer Register, provide carer information and connect you with services to support you.
Samantha Papworth and Diane Rowley are Carer Champions at the surgery. They help with the identification of carers, act as a voice for carers and are a key point of contact for carer information.
Help and support for carers.
- Carers Hub Service provide support for adult carers in Nottinghamshire and Tuvida provide support for young carers, aged 5 to 17 years, living in Nottinghamshire.
- Derbyshire Carers Association provide support for carers living in Derbyshire.
- Do you look after someone? provides information on the support available for carers.
Accessing someone else’s information.
As a parent, family member or carer, you may be able to access services for someone else. We call this having proxy access. We can set this up for you if you are both registered with us and have online access set up.
To request proxy access:
- Fill in our Proxy Access Form and return in person to the surgery, along with evidence of ID
- Collect a proxy access form from reception.
Linked profiles in your NHS Account.
Once proxy access is set up, you can access the other person’s profile in your NHS account, using the NHS App or website.
The NHS website has information about using linked profiles to access services for someone else.
Sharing information with someone else.
With your consent we can discuss your medical information with someone else, such as your partner. For us to authorise this you need to complete a Sharing of Information Form and return this to the surgery.