Support for carers

Support for carers

If you care for someone, you may need support from time to time.

The Carers (Scotland) Act

The Carers (Scotland) Act gives adults and young carers in Scotland rights.

The act is designed to:

• listen to carers
• make support in different areas more consistent
• support caring relationships and protect carers’ health and wellbeing

Under the act, every carer has a right to a personalised plan to identify what is important to them. For adult carers this is called an ‘adult carer support plan’. For young carers (under the age of 18 or 18 and still at school) this is a ‘young carer statement’.

If you’d like to more information about getting your own plan, contact your council’s social care department or your local carer centre.

You can find more information:

• the Carers’ charter details carers’ rights under the Carers Act
• information on what to expect (PDF, 353 KB) from key rights under the Carers Act
• a jargon buster for young carers (PDF, 3.6 MB) which explains some of the technical words and phrases in the act

Other support available

You can find more support:

• from your council’s social care department to request an assessment of care needs for the person you look after
• at carer centres which offer a range of practical support, advice, and information
• at your place of work or education – you can find flexible ways to work or study to fit around caring for someone
• from mygov.scot with information about carer or disability benefits
• from Young Scot if you are a young carer
• from talking to your GP

Local carer centres are the main source of information and advice. There are also several national organisations that represent carers and provide information, such as:

• Carers Trust Scotland
• Coalition of Carers in Scotland
• MECOPP supports Black and Minority Ethnic carers
• Shared Care Scotland for information on short breaks from caring
• Age Scotland
• Carers Scotland

VOCAL’s video describes the difference support can make.

Contact us for information on support groups in your area.