Carers Wales promotes good practice in the way carers are involved in policy work. It is our own practice to:
1. Involve carers in public events such as
- Conferences
- Training events with health and social services staff
- Carers Forums
2. Use the experience of carers to inform research carried out, either by us alone or as part of the Wales Carers Alliance. Recent research by the Wales Carers Alliance to establish the quantity and quality of carers' assessments in Wales involved questionnaires being sent out to 9000 carers in Wales.
3. Involve carers in major consultation exercises.
- For example, we held an initial consultation conference for carers and policy makers to inform the development of the Carers Strategy in Wales.
- We held written and face to face consultations with carers about the restructuring of the NHS in Wales.
- Carers will be involved in the future development of the website.
4. Use carers to inform the policies of Carers Wales :
- at the national level by the members of the Wales Committee, and
- at the local level by campaigning work carried out through our network of branches and by campaigning forums such as the Swansea Carers Action Group.
5. Monitor the service to carers from Carers Wales
- by means of an annual customer satisfaction survey.
6. We recommend the following good practice guidelines to those who want to involve carers in their work:
- Be clear about your reasons for involving carers. Their time is precious. Only involve them if you are prepared to listen to what they say.
- Have the meeting or other event at a time that is convenient to the carer. Meetings in the early morning , late afternoon or evening are difficult for carers.
- Make sure that the venue is somewhere where carers will feel comfortable. Ensure that good refreshments are available.
- Give enough advance warning of meetings so that carers can make alternative care arrangements.
- Ensure that they have access to alternative care for the person they are caring for
- Give carers all the relevant information well in advance if they are expected to make a contribution to the event.
- Pay all expenses entailed in their involvement, including travelling and alternative care costs.
- Provide the necessary training if a long term committment is needed from the carer.
- Provide carers with feedback on the outcome of meetings and events in which they are involved.
