GP practices in Wiltshire going above and beyond for unpaid carers were recognised at the Carer Support Wiltshire (CSW) Investors in Carers GP Accreditation Scheme Awards at Devizes Town Hall (July 17) – pictured above.
The awards recognise and celebrate those Wiltshire GP practices who have met a number of requirements, including maintaining an up-to-date carer’s register, having a carer’s lead, providing flexible appointments for carers and holding a minimum of one carer’s clinic per year.
This year 28 practices received the highest possible Platinum award – up from 17 last year. The new platinum level was introduced in response to the outstanding support to carers provided by many GP Practices in Wiltshire.
The scheme aims to raise awareness of carers’ issues in GP practices and provide a system of awards to recognise their support to carers.
Alison Harrod is the Practice Manager at Ramsbury & Wanborough Surgery: “Ramsbury & Wanborough Surgery are delighted to receive this Platinum award. The GP Accreditation Scheme has high values and supports GP Surgeries with improving their commitment to carers via local knowledge, signposting, accessing resources, arranging social gatherings and addressing health needs.”
“Recognition for what has been achieved within the previous year is so important and helps you to build upon your success in the following years.”
According to a recent State of Caring Survey 2019, conducted by Carers UK of over 7,500 carers, 72 per cent of carers responding said they had suffered mental ill health as a result of caring and 61 per cent reported physical ill health as a result of caring.
GP Practices continue to be the main source of referrals to CSW and are often the first point for a carer to acknowledge their caring role and access support. Holding carer clinics at GP surgeries in rural areas also means carers in isolated locations can access face to face support and information
The awards were presented by Tim Burns (Commissioning Manager) and Dr Richard Sandford-Hill (Chairman) from Wiltshire Clinical Commissioning Group (CCG). CSW is jointly funded by Wiltshire Council and the NHS Wiltshire CCG.