Executive summary
Warwickshire County Council, NHS Coventry and Warwickshire Integrated Care Board and our health, voluntary and independent sector partners, acknowledge the significant contribution of carers and are committed to supporting them to fulfil their caring role, whilst enabling them to have a life outside of caring, and maintaining and protecting their health and wellbeing.
The 2014 Care Act defines a carer as: “an adult who provides or intends to provide care for another adult”. In line with the Care Act definition, this strategy focuses upon supporting adult carers who are caring for another adult. Support for young carers and parent carers fall within the scope of Warwickshire County Council’s Children and Families business unit.
We have considered what is important nationally in terms of legislation and guidance and the vision and values set out in Warwickshire Better Care Fund Plans, known locally as Warwickshire Cares: Better Together when coproducing this plan. Within this framework, health and social care partners have agreed jointly to put strong mechanisms in place to support informal carers and work across the health and social care economy to minimise the impact of illness and disability on a carer’s life, and support cares to balance their caring roles and maintain their desired quality of life.
Alongside this, the Government is committed to greater integration of health and social care, reflected in the Better Care Fund, which makes specific provision for pooling funding for carers.
Warwickshire County Council and the NHS Coventry and Warwickshire Inegrated Care Board are looking at how we combine and use our resources to work more closely together to help people get the support they need in the right place and at the right time.
At the same time, money will continue to be tight, with less money available to support an increasing number of people who need support, be it because of their age, disabilities or other reasons.
There is currently no single profession or organisation that can ensure the best outcomes for carers in term of their health and wellbeing, therefore agencies need to work effectively together to identify, assess and act on issues facing carers and improve support.
Warwickshire has developed a Carers Action Plan (2023-2025) following on from the Joint Adult Carers Strategy, which is set in the context of this changed environment and will attempt to respond in a realistic yet imaginative and creative way to face the challenges ahead.
To achieve the vision and achieve the strategic objectives set out in this action plan it is vital that sustainable support solutions are in place for Carers that will empower Carers to be as independent as possible at an individual and community level.
Therefore, we are looking for new ways of making the best use of the money available and ways of people supporting each other in their local communities. We are looking to develop a carers support offer that is closer to communities, to ensure support is tailored to local needs, builds upon local assets, and is integrated within and works in partnership with the local health and social care system.