Islington Adult Carers Strategy 2024-2030

What the strategy means for you

We think that Islington should be a place where carers:

• feel visible and acknowledged
• have opportunities to build strengths and improve on wellbeing
• can access the right support at the right time.

Since 2021 over 350 carers in Islington have shared their experiences and told us about what matters to them.

Members of the Islington Borough Partnership, who developed the strategy, will continue to play their part and make sure that their organisations take responsibility for making the strategy’s ambitions reality.

For Islington Council, the development and adoption of this strategy is key to meeting our goals for Adult Social Care in the Islington Together 2030 plan.

Members of the Islington Borough Partnership

Islington Borough Partnership includes:

• Healthwatch Islington
• Islington Council
• Islington GP Federation
• North Central London Integrated Care Board
• North London Mental Health Partnership
• University College London Hospitals
• Whittington Health
• representatives of the Islington voluntary and community and sector.

Our priorities for you

Feeling supported

By 2030 you will:

• understand the value of identifying as a carer and feel there are less obstacles in accessing support
• feel empowered with increased confidence and good self-esteem.

Our commitments to achieve this are to:

• increase the identification of carers and ensure support is more accessible
• promote financial advice and support for carers so you know and understand your financial entitlements and can reduce financial pressures where possible
• review housing policies and procedures to identify opportunities to recognise and support your housing needs
• increase the volume and quality of personalised carer assessments to ensure you have timely access to the right support for you.
• establish a better offer for breaks and respite, making sure it is fair and based on each person’s needs.

Physical and emotional wellbeing

By 2030, you will:

• have good health, mental and emotional wellbeing
• feel valued and respected for the vital role you play in society.

Our commitments to achieve this are to:

• improve what we offer to support emotional wellbeing and make sure it meets the diverse needs of carers
• offer activities and support, including peer support, at flexible times both online and face-to-face
• promote physical activity and healthy nutrition for carers, such as promoting discounted memberships for carers
• improve the ways we recognise and show appreciation for the contributions you make, like offering a reward card for discounts in local shops
• ensure reviews cover how caring affects physical and emotional health - whether an Adult Social Care carers review, an NHS health check or a carers hub wellbeing check - and that carers receive support in good time to boost their health and wellbeing
• trial some peer support coaching opportunities for carers of people experiencing mental health issues and share what we learned.

Respected as experts

By 2030, you will:

• feel valued and respected by professionals and have the expertise to undertake your caring role
• be able to influence health and social care services in the best interests of the person you care for.

Our commitments to achieve this are to:

• publish our commitment to carers (Islington Council, North London Mental Health Partnership and Whittington Health)
• learn from other areas that successfully use the hospital discharge toolkit for carers, with a view to adopting it in Islington.
• develop a training programme on a range of topics, including health conditions, medication management, and navigating the NHS
• develop carer awareness training for professionals
• make sure home care providers recognise your expertise as an unpaid carer and work in partnership with you to support the person you care for if they draw on home care
• learn from Carer Champions and Carer Leads in GP practices to share lessons across the wider GP network and with other partners.

Employment

By 2030 you will:

• feel supported in your caring responsibilities by your employer
• have improved access to educational and employment opportunities that you can participate alongside your caring role.

Our commitments to achieve this are to:

• promote Islington’s Adult Community Learning programme to carers, providing access to courses that can help develop interests and skills and help you stay or enter the workforce.
• review materials for Islington employers about supporting employees with caring responsibilities and make sure they are available to employers and their staff
• share good practice on the support in place for staff who have caring responsibilities, including Carers’ Staff Forums and Carers Champions/Leads.
• create a network for sharing best practice for all employers in the borough to encourage effective employment support.

Transition to adulthood

By 2030 you will:

• as a young carer turning 18, feel informed and supported as you move into adulthood
• as a carer of a young person with care needs turning 18, feel informed and supported during the transition period to adult services.

Our commitments to achieve this are to:

• improve the transitions pathway between child and adult services to better help young carers and carers of children moving to adult services
• include support for transitions as a requirement of the Young Carers service when we look for a new contractor in 2024 which will improve the help we give to young carers
• make sure to support and encourage care-experienced young people to take advantage of the adult carers’ offer if they have caring responsibilities.

Communications and access to information

By 2030 you will:

• have good access to information and advice to ensure I get the right support at the right time for me.
• know your rights and entitlements, and what is available for me and those I care for.

Our commitments to achieve this are to:

• continue investing in online resources for carers to access information, advice, and peer support
• develop an online information resource for carers and professionals to make it easier for you to find everything they need
• borough-wide promotion of the right to a statutory Carers assessment and the benefits of having one
• ensure both GP practices and Islington voluntary and community sector organisations have a good understanding of carer needs and challenges and the support available for carers in the borough, and that they can direct you to appropriate support
• establish a greater understanding of Islington carers who are not using traditional services, what your needs are and how to better meet your needs
• include carers as a defined group in Adult Social Care inequalities work
• make sure there's a focus on carers in Islington’s Digital Exclusion to Inclusion working group.

How we will monitor progress on each priority

Islington is committed to working in partnership to implement this strategy.

• The Carers Partnership Board will continue to deliver the strategy’s commitments with an action plan that sets out the actions partners will take and identifying any further opportunities to improve the lives of carers.
• A Carers Steering Group will ensure carers drive and monitor progress of the strategy’s commitments and will review the action plan. We will continue to welcome new members to join this group.
• The Carers Partnership Board will regularly report on progress to the Islington Borough Partnership members, holding each other to account for delivering against the commitments set out in this strategy.

How we will measure impact

The Survey of Adult Carers in England (SACE) was developed to learn if services received by carers are helping them in their caring role and their life outside of caring. The survey takes place every two years and is sent to all carers known to us.

In 2021/22 the SACE was sent to 831 carers. 208 carers responded, a response rate of 27 per cent. We will use this as a benchmark and our ambition is for Islington to score above the London and England average.

The survey will only provide insights into carers that are known to Islington Council so key partner organisations with responsibilities towards carers will include the same set of questions in their annual survey of carers. This will let us to track improvements and identify areas for development across the borough partnership. helping us make further

Read page 42 onwards of the full strategy for 2021/22 survey feedback scores against our priorities.