Carers Rights Day 2024
Recognising your rights
This year, Carers Rights Day is held on Thursday 21 November 2024 and it focuses on recognising the rights of unpaid carers.
Every day, 12,000 people become unpaid carers for a partner, family member or a friend – many of whom don’t see themselves as carers, often unaware of their legal rights and what they’re entitled to in terms of support and benefits. This year’s theme is ‘recognising your rights’, and we would like to help raise awareness about carers’ rights and how to access the support available to them.
As a carer, knowing your rights empowers you with information about what you’re entitled to. This helps you feel confident asking for what you need, as well as challenging things when your rights are not being met – whether that be in the workplace or education, in accessing health or social care, or when interacting with other professionals or at home.
What are your rights?
- The right to unpaid Carer’s Leave
- The right to request flexible working
- The right to ask your GP practice to identify you as a carer
- The right (and choice) to request a free flu jab
- Protection against discrimination or harassment
- Requesting a carer’s assessment
- Being consulted when the person you care for is discharged from hospital
How are we prioritising carers’ experiences?
We recently published a report focusing on patient and carer experiences with intermediate care services provided in Westminster and Kensington & Chelsea. Intermediate care support can either be provided to a patient after being hospitalised and discharged (i.e., step-down care), or to prevent hospitalisation (i.e., step-up care) and it aims to maximise their independence.
We spoke to patients and carers with experience of using step down care to understand the involvement of patients and unpaid carers, continuity and quality of care and communication.
Carers shared with us key insights, including the fact that they often took an advocacy role to better navigate the post-discharge care system and help set comprehensive care directives for their loved ones. This negatively affected their physical and mental health. For a comprehensive overview of our findings, you can read our research here.
Get involved
Are you a carer, family member or friend of someone supported by CNWL Mental health services in Westminster?
CNWL will be holding an event on Wednesday 4 December to find out more about support for carers. You can drop in from 2pm to 4pm to share your views on what would help you and your loved ones. Find out more about this event here.
