Local carer organisations must be put at the heart of new neighbourhood health services, Carers Trust says

Responding to the Government’s first steps towards its new neighbourhood health services, Carers Trust’s Director of Policy & Public Affairs, Dominic Carter, said:  

“The Government’s focus on bringing the NHS closer to communities is welcome, particularly for people with multiple long-term conditions, where joined-up local care is essential.

"Including voluntary organisations in this approach is long overdue and could make all the difference. For its ambitions to be realised, unpaid carers and the local carer organisations that support them must be at the heart of the changes. 

“Unpaid carers already provide vital care in communities, and local carer organisations have shown the benefits of neighbourhood working for decades. These organisations deliver multiple services under one roof and are the beating heart of support for unpaid carers and their families.

"That’s especially true in the most deprived areas of the UK, where the highest levels of unpaid care are provided. Their experience, reach, and trusted relationships make them essential to the success of the Government’s reforms.”