A carer is someone who looks after a person, a family member or friend because that person would not be safe and well without their help.
Carers are really important to families and friends. Providing care is an integral part of life and many people have told us through consultation that they want to provide care for someone, but they aren't able to or don't have as much time to give to caring as they would like.
In this strategy we're setting out an ambitious plan for every carer to have:
- a life of their own
- the choice to care and stop caring without recrimination
- equality of opportunity to life chances including education, training, work and leisure activities
Our Carers' Strategy will enable families to stay well and tackle financial hardship. By 2020 every carer should have appropriate opportunities to:
- access at the right time the type of information and advice they need for themselves, their family and the person they care for
- understand their rights and have access to an assessment
- have a voice for themselves and the person they care for
- have regular and sufficient breaks
- continue to learn and develop, train or work (if they wish to)
- look after their own health
For more information please refer to our Carers' Delivery Plan (2022-2025) and our Young Carer, Parent and Adult Carer Strategy (2016-2020).
Carers' Delivery Plan (2022-2025)
We want to be bold, ambitious and make Sheffield a carer friendly city, so that '… carers are plugged into a network that enables them to get support for their own mental health, wellbeing and needs.' To do this we need a clear Delivery Plan that provides direction and accountability.
The Delivery Plan will align with the Carers' Strategy by using the co-produced Carer Principles that were refreshed in 2020. The view from carers and stakeholders was that we didn’t need a new Carers' Strategy, we just needed to refresh the Carer Principles, which drive actions that create positive change. The refreshed Carer Principles and the Delivery Plan with actions can be viewed below.