Working together to support Carers – Co production in action in Carmarthenshire County Council by Emma Taylor-Hill

A ‘Working Together to Support Carers conference’ was held recently in Carmarthenshire. The Head of Adult Social Care said Supporting Carers is a priority in Carmarthenshire and the local authority wants to ensure a co production approach is used to inform this work.

The audience was made up from practitioners and carers. This included representatives from statutory and third sector services. The agenda included a series of presentations in the morning including:

• Welcome and introduction to the day by Avril Bracey (Head of Adult Social Care, Carmarthenshire County Council) and Nick Andrews from Developing Evidence Enriched Practice (DEEP)
• A video message from Luke Clements on the legislative and policy context
• Information about the experiences of carers from Claire Morgan (Director of Carers Wales)
• Reflection from a social worker about his work with a carer

In the afternoon, guests were able to join tables for discussions on different topics. This included:

• Early support
• Information/advice and assistance
• Carers assessments
• Respite/short breaks/direct payments.
• Impact of the cost-of-living crisis on carers

Discussions were captured and will be collated to inform strategies in Carmarthenshire including the developing prevention strategy. This was a wonderful example of co-production and the day enabled qualitative information to be gathered, so that the voices of carers could be included in planning for support provision.

One theme that kept emerging throughout the day was the importance of relationship-based practice and how this can support a better understanding of those with caring responsibilities and their needs. It was evident that there is complexity within families with multiple carers and in some cases, this was not always being recognized and supported. It was suggested that there needs to be more of a proactive approach in identifying those with caring responsibilities who may benefit from assessment.

There was a great deal of discussion about the need for short breaks to be bespoke and in line with what matters for both the carer and the person with care and support needs. There were also suggestions for direct payments to be used flexibly and creatively to ensure a person-centred approach.

Feedback from carers was positive and there are plans to hold a similar event next year

If you would like to find out more about this topic, please have a look at the Welsh Government annual report for 2023 on the delivery plan for unpaid carers:

Unpaid carers delivery plan annual report 2023,