Posted on: 5 June 2023
Hello all, my name is Kulvant Sandhu and I’m a few months new in post as the senior programme manager for unpaid carers and personalisation.
What is an unpaid carer? Quite simply it is a person who provides care (unpaid) for family or friends who have a disability, illness or who need support in later life. What isn’t always simple is carers being recognised, finding the support they need, and navigating the health and care system to help them continue in their caring role.
I have learnt this over the years not only from working as a nurse but from personal experiences too. Prior to my role here I worked for Leeds Community Healthcare NHS Trust leading on the Mental Capacity Act and dementia, it was within this role where my passion for wanting to do more for carers came.
Often people living with dementia and those who lack mental capacity to make decisions are supported by their carers who know them the best. Without involving carers, it is difficult to truly offer person-centred care especially if our patients are not able to tell us their preferences themselves.
Did you know the value of unpaid care between 2020-2021 was an estimated £164 billion, which is equivalent to a second NHS in England and Wales (Carers UK, 2023). Supporting carers is not solely about the economic cost savings, it’s about enabling people who want to be cared for in their own homes, for as long as possible, and by the people who know them the best.
This year’s Carers Week theme is ‘recognising and supporting carers in the community’ and I’d like to invite colleagues across our health and care partnership to do just that. How do you identify a carer? Simply ask them “Are you looking after someone?”.
Then offer them support in their own right as a carer. There are many voluntary, sommunity, social enterprise (VCSE) sector organisations who provide great support for carers across West Yorkshire. Want to know about your specialist local carer services, visit our website: https://
In this video in support of Carers Week, Fatima Khan Shan, our West Yorkshire Inclusivity Champion and former programme lead for unpaid carers at the Partnership, pays tribute to all the unpaid carers in our region.
Jo Rooney is Wakefield District’s Senior Commissioning Manager for Children and Young People. She is also a working carer and deputy chair of the ICB Working Carers Network. As part of Carers Week 2023, she talks about what it’s like being a working carer: https://www.wakefielddistricthcp.co.uk/news-blog/article/carers-week-2023-the-integrated-care-board-working-carers-network/.