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The government increasingly recognises the vital role played by
carers and has published several pieces of recent legislation and
guidance to support them
The Carers & Disabled Children Act 2000…
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- gives people who are providing or intending to provide
regular and substantial* care the right to an assessment of
their own needs by Social Services. The carer must only be
aged over 16 and be providing or intending to provide care
for someone aged over 18.
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- a right for a carer to request an assessment of their needs
even when the person for whom they are caring refuses to accept
an assessment or services in their own right .
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- local authorities can provide direct payment (i.e. cash
instead of care) to parent carers, to carers for their own
services and to young disabled people aged 16 or 17.
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- the ability for local authorities to charge carers for
their own service.
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- provision of "vouchers" to some carers for breaks
from caring.
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*Herefordshire Council's definition of regular
and substantial is that the service user's daily living situation
would be 'at risk' if the carer did not provide the care that they
do.
To
see the Act in full
National Service Framework for Mental Health (NSF)
Standard Six- Caring for Carers
The NSF was published by the government in 1998 and is the blueprint
for the development of mental health services over the next ten
years. It recognises carers by devoting standard six (out of seven)
to their needs and is summarised as follows:
All individuals who provide regular and substantial care for a
person on Care Programme Approach (i.e. anyone being seen by specialist
mental health services) should:
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- have an assessment of their caring, physical and mental
health needs, repeated on at least an annual basis
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- have their own written care plan, which is given to them
and implemented in discussion with them.
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More
on NSF
The Mental Health Act 1983
The "nearest relative" has a number of rights under the
Act which enable him/her to
- require an approved social worker to assess someone who might
need to be admitted to hospital
- ask for your relative to be admitted to hospital compulsorily
- prevent a compulsory admission taking place
- express his/her point of view when the patinets detention under
the Act is reviewed by the Mental Health Act tribunal or hospital
managers.
More on rights of nearest
relative
More information for carers
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