Support and services for carers
Who is a carer?
You are a carer if you look after a friend, relative or neighbour who has a long-term disability, mental health difficulty, or is frail due to old age, and you are not paid for the care you provide.
You may be helping them with:
- personal care, such as washing, dressing or taking medication;
- practical care, such as support with shopping, cooking and cleaning; or
- emotional support if they are lonely, worried or get upset.
You do not have to live in the same house as the person you care for to be their carer.
There is a range of services available for anyone who is a carer. You can get more details from the Birmingham Carers Centre and the Adult Care in Brum websites.
A new way of providing support and services to carers
What has changed?
We are changing the way we provide our services, to give you and the person you support more choice and flexibility in how we provide services to meet your needs.
This is following the Supporting Carers Consultation with carers. On 29 March 2010, Birmingham City Council’s Cabinet agreed to the proposals, which ended the FASBC (Fair Access to Short Breaks for Carers) scheme.
From July 2010, support and service to you will be delivered as part of the Government’s agenda on ‘Personalisation’. This means giving services users and carers more say over how, when and where they get support, services and advice. As a carer, you could get:
- time away from caring
- advice and information on a wide range of services that can offer you support including the Carers’ Emergency Response Service (CERS).
How can we help you?
The help we can give you depends on what support you are looking for, and the outcome of an assessment with you and the person you are a carer for.
If you are looking for general information and advice about support for carers, you may find what you need on the Birmingham Carers Centre website.
If you are looking for support and services from us, you will need to contact us about getting an assessment. We can assess your needs at the same time as we assess the needs of the person you look after. Please see the Carers assessment page for more information.
Leaflets and documents