For professionals


Helping you to support Carers

Here you can find out what help is out there for Carers

Who is a Carer? A Carer is a child or adult who looks after a family member, partner, friend or neighbour who needs help because of their illness, frailty, disability, a mental health problem or an addiction and cannot cope without the Carer’s support. The care given is unpaid or informal.

Please encourage Carers to let their GP practice know that they are a Carer and have it registered on their medical record, as well as their work place/place of education, if relevant.


Supporting Carers

There are 17,000 Carers in North East Lincolnshire, which means 1 in 10 of the population. Most people will know, work with, support, manage or employ a Carer.

Identifying and signposting informal Carers is a responsibility of all health and care professionals, whether you notice Carers as part of your work with the public or within a work setting with other professionals. Professionals aren’t expected to be experts on Carers and their needs, but they are expected to know the basics to ensure that Carers in need can be directed to appropriate support. See links below for details on Carers and the support available in North East Lincolnshire.

Free online support for Carers – North East Lincolnshire Council and North East Lincolnshire Clinical Commissioning Group have teamed up with Carers UK to offer Carers in our area a comprehensive online resource, which includes our own information and support for Carers.

To create an account and get free access to all the products and support resources carers need to click on the link Carers UK Digital Resource Log In  and create a new account by using the free access code DGTL2217.

Find out more about what’s included in the support – Carers Support Digital Resources


Roles and responsibilities

As a professional individual

As professionals and representatives of your organisation, you have a responsibility to Carers – both those you meet in public and those in your workplace – to identify and signpost (with consent) to resources and other organisations that can help them. Recognition of a child, for example, caring for their brother/sister, parent or other individual should result in the offer of referral of the family for a needs assessment. See below for the key organisations for referral – the Carers Support Service and SPA.

You also have a responsibility as a professional to be aware of Carers in the workforce, to signpost them to support options (via the Carers Support Service and SPA or through the digital resource) and to encourage them (if appropriate) to discuss their caring status with their manager. Where you manage Carers, you have an additional responsibility to ensure you are aware of the potential demands on Carer time and the challenges working carers face. The online resource EfC Digital (membership code #EFC2217) offers manager training modules, information on carer rights in the workplace and suggestions on potential support that can be offered. You should also familiarise yourself with any carers policy your workplace has.

Your last key responsibility is safeguarding. All children are considered vulnerable due to their position of dependency, but Young Carers are at increased vulnerability due to their caring position. Adult and Parent Carers are also at potential higher risk, owing to the dynamic of dependency, guilt and increased stress/tiredness that can result from caring. Those cared for are also at higher risk. As a result, professionals need to be increasingly vigilant around families where informal care is happening, to ensure the safety of all parties. For Adult safeguarding concerns, call 01472 256 256, for Child safeguarding concerns, call 01472 326292 option 2. In the case of an emergency, dial 999.

The Carers’ Support Service

The Carers’ Support Service works with organisations and professionals to raise the profile and awareness of Carers in North East Lincolnshire. The aim is to identify and support Carers by providing professionals with an understanding of Carers, including the needs of Carers and the challenges they face. The service also aims to encourage professionals to become Carers Champions, by providing Carer Champion training and support to progress the awareness raising of Carers within their own organisations.

The Carers’ Support Service can provide training and talks to groups and individuals completely free, and can work with you so that you are confident about the support available to Carers and what you can do to support a Carer in your role.

Free Carers awareness training for professionals

This training aims to provide the definition of a Carer, explore the challenges Carers face, covers basic legal rights of Carers and the support available for Carers in North East Lincolnshire.

The role of a Carers Champion

  • To liaise with the Carers’ Support Service, ensuring information regarding support for Carers is kept up to date
  • Filters information to colleagues
  • Supports in the identification of Carers in the workplace
  • Supports colleagues by signposting to local support
  • Champions identified Carers, ensuring their views and needs are taken into account during implementation/changes of policies and procedures
  • Works with managers and colleagues to help create a Carers friendly workplace, where Carers feel they can talk to their managers about their caring role

Single point of access (SPA)

  • 01472 256256 option 1 – is for physical health and provides access to discuss urgent, unplanned health issues. A Healthcare professional will assess the callers/individual’s situation and provide advice and information to support them including access to the crisis response team where appropriate
  • 01472 256256 option 2 – is for adult social care. You will speak to a trained social care advisor, contact if:
    • You have concerns about an adult who is vulnerable or may be being neglected or abused
    • You are a Carer and you require support to help you to care for someone
    • You need support getting out and about or getting around your home
    • You need care or support to help you live at home
  • 01472 256256 option 3 – for all local mental health help, trained mental health advisors who will be able to provide individuals with advice and information to support them, including access to crisis response services
  • 01472 256256 option 4 – for the hospital discharge team who will be able to support individuals with hospital discharge arrangements
  • 01472 256256 option 5 – for connectNEL, a 24/7 signposting service.

If you need to signpost individuals for any queries, complaints, or compliments around the carers services or pathways in North East Lincolnshire please share The Carers’ Support Service or Healthwatch North East Lincolnshire .


Printable downloads

North East Lincolnshire Carers’ Guide – printable download (PDF) 2MB


Useful websites

Page last updated: 06 Oct 2023