Tailoring carers' assessments in NHS and adult social care to the needs of carers of people living with dementia
Paul Clarkson In progress
Paul Clarkson In progress
Over 670,000 people (UK) are primary unpaid carers for people with dementia. This creates demands and challenges and they require support. Assessments of carers more generally, what they require in their caring roles and more widely, is now a requirement of professionals in, for example, social care and general practice. It is a legal requirement in social care organised by local authorities and expected in general practice. However, practice is variable, misses out important things and specifically for carers of people with dementia is not sufficiently tailor-made to carers’ needs.
Dementia carers from underserved groups, for example those from south Asian backgrounds and carers of younger people with dementia, are particularly disadvantaged.
This research will look at how these carers assessments work and how they might be improved for these groups.
The study will bring together the evidence from literature and carers’ and professionals’ experiences through consultation, focus groups and interviews. Expert panels with social care and GP practice professionals and carers will identify needs focus on as they assess pen pictures of dementia carers in different circumstances, to identify gaps, and make recommendations through two workshops, co-designed with carers and professionals.
The analysis and findings will be used to draw up recommendations for those who make decisions on how these assessments should look and how they should operate. These findings will provide examples of how varied these assessments are, highlight the issues particularly for dementia carers and those in our underserved groups, and bring together best practice.