From June – August 2018, the three NHS Clinical Commissioning Groups (CCGs) in Bradford District and Craven worked together with the Council to understand the views and experiences of carers across the area.

This engagement with carers and other stakeholders has been carried out in order to influence and inform the development of the jointly commissioned Carers’ Service, and the insight will also be used to inform future strategy development.

Document “Q” highlights the key themes emerging from the engagement, which have influenced the procurement process and will shape the service specification.

Recommended –

The Committee is requested to take into account the findings from the engagement with carers when considering the procurement of the Carers’ Support Service. 

(Victoria Simmons – 07980 905583)

From June – August 2018, the three NHS Clinical Commissioning Groups (CCGs) in Bradford District and Craven worked together with the Council to understand the views and experiences of carers across the area.

This engagement with carers and other stakeholders had been carried out in order to influence and inform the development of the jointly commissioned Carers Service, and the insight would also be used to inform future strategy development.

The Head of Engagement at NHS Bradford District and Craven CCGs introduced the report, Document “Q”, which highlighted the key themes emerging from the engagement, which had influenced the procurement process and would shape the service specification.

During her presentation she explained the importance of understanding the significance of the role of unpaid carers which was estimated to contribute over £900 million to the health and care economy in Bradford District and Craven.  She stressed that carers were not a homogenous group and that the purpose of the engagement exercise had been to understand what mattered most to them, what they valued most, challenges they faced and barriers to accessing support.  She stated that a mixed approach was used to gather information and that approximately 450 carers took part in the engagement activity.  The emerging themes mirrored the findings from similar surveys carried out locally and nationally and the feedback would be used to assist the commissioning for the Carers Service and to inform future strategy development.

The Chair thanked officers for undertaking the engagement work and queried whether participants had included people that did not class themselves as carers.  In response, it was reported that conversations at outreach sessions had been initiated with leading questions such as “do you look after somebody?” so that people who undertook a carers role but did not class themselves as a carer were also captured.

A Member referred to the table within the report which showed the responses to a question in relation to the awareness of support services.  He stated that it was difficult to put the responses received into context and queried whether more information could be provided to better explain its relevance.  In response, it was stated that further analysis into the detail of the responses was available and would be circulated to Members; it would show the reasons relating to the need for care and the awareness of relevant support organisations for that specific area.

Following a Member’s question, it was explained that the opportunity to participate in the engagement activity had been open to all carers.  The engagement had included an online survey, face to face discussion groups in the community and outreach sessions in public places which had included shopping centres. This survey had been promoted through social media and publicised on the Council’s and CCGs’ websites and local newspapers.  A target figure for the number of participants had not been set as the engagement had been open to any carer wanting to take part in the research. 

A Member raised concern that the latest data being referenced was from the 2011 Census, which showed there were approximately 52,000 carers, as the figure was likely to have risen over the last seven years.  She also queried why the report did not make reference to young carers.  In response, it was stated that the engagement work related to the procurement of the Carers Service which supported adult carers only and that there were other services available that supported young carers.

The Head of Commissioning for Mental Wellbeing for Bradford Council and NHS Bradford District and Craven CCGs acknowledged that the current strategy did not reflect changes since 2011, such as the introduction of the Care Act, and that the Carers Strategy would be updated to reflect changes since 2011 as well as taking into account the demographic of carers across the district.

A Member suggested that, as money and financial worries were a commonly occurring theme, particularly challenges with benefits and the assessment process, that outreach sessions also be held in job centres for future engagement events.

A Member highlighted that some primary carers had a support network of secondary carers and that it would be useful to know statistics in relation to this.  In response, it was stated that carers were asked how many hours they spent providing care and that this could be analysed further to provide statistical information on the carers that participated in the engagement activity.

A Member queried whether information was shared with participants on the support that was available during the engagement activities.  In response it was explained that whilst representatives from support organisations were not in attendance at the engagement events, participants were signposted to those services where appropriate.

A Member spoke of the negative impact a carer’s role could have on an individual and stated that there was a need, as part of the procurement process for the Carers Service, for smaller organisations to be included in supporting carers locally to ensure they did not have to travel long distances to access support which provided them with respite.

Resolved –

That officers be thanked for the report.

NO ACTION