Carers Voice

A campaign from an alliance of organisations in Bristol representing its diverse communities: Bristol Black Carers, Bristol Women in Business, Bristol Women’s Commission, Bristol Women’s Voice, Carers Support, Chinese Community Wellbeing Society, Co-Produce Care, WECIL and Women’s Budget Group. 

We want to see the dignity and rights of carers, care workers and those who may need care upheld and recognised for their true worth and to allow caring for loved ones. 

We want our elected representatives and employers to recognise and value this hidden army – mostly of women – who provide the care that is the infrastructure holding our society together.

We call upon decision-makers and employers to value the caring economy by adequately investing in childcare and early education, social care and ensuring dignity, respect and flexibility across employment to allow for caring.

Join us in showing that caring is everybody’s business and sign the petition

We have started a Caring Economy Listening Project and are looking for women to share their experiences caring for children, older people and/or disabled people. 

Your answers help inform our work to influence policies and initiatives that centre on the needs of carers like you. We will be presenting our final report to decision-makers in Bristol City Council, the West of England Combined Authority and employers across the region. 

Please spare 15 minutes to complete our confidential survey 

A series of surveys on behalf of the South Glos Learning Disabilities Partnership Board to give you the chance to inform decision-makers and providers in health, and social care on these vital subjects.

Carers’ survey on learning disabilities and health

What kind of support do carers need to support people with learning disabilities to improve their health and at the same time maintain good health for themselves?

Take the survey

Carers' survey on housing, transport and safety

What kind of support do carers need to make sure they and the people they care for access housing, transport and feel safe?

Take the survey

Carers’ survey on education and employment

What kind of support do carers need to support LD people to improve their education and employment?

Take the survey

Carers' survey on personalisation

Personalisation is about giving people much more choice and control over their lives and the support they receive.

Take the survey

Are you a person living with dementia in privately rented housing, a family carer, or a support worker? We’re supporting a research study exploring the needs of private tenants with dementia. If you're interested in sharing your experience in a 30–45 minute conversation with a researcher, you’ll receive a £35 voucher as a thank you.

To take part or learn more, contact Ellie Whitfield at e.whitfield@qmul.ac.uk or call 07349 044794.

South Gloucestershire Council is seeking feedback from unpaid carers to help improve the support available in emergency situations. Whether you’ve experienced a crisis or want to help shape future services, your views are vital in making sure the right help is available when it’s needed most.

This short survey is an opportunity to share your thoughts on what works well, what could be improved, and what additional support would make a difference. Your responses will help the council better understand carers’ needs and develop more responsive, effective services.

Take part today: Complete the survey online

Thank you for helping to improve emergency support for carers in South Gloucestershire.

In September 2002, Bristol City Council, struggling to balance the budget like most Local Authorities, proposed a new Fair and Affordable Care Policy to enable them to take best value into account when deciding how to meet an individual’s care needs. 

We wrote a response to the consultation expressing our deep concern about the potential impact this proposed policy could have on carers’ well-being and choices. We were especially concerned about the impact on those who cannot afford to pay for care, those caring 35+ hours a week, those who live in social housing, and those who would prefer to care for their loved ones at home.

The council listened to Carers Voice and to the disabled campaigners, deleted the policy and set up a working group with carers and disabled people representation to find a better solution. We are part of that group, and we will keep you posted.  

Carers Support's Submission to Bristol City Council Fair and Affordable Care Policy Consultation

Since 2022 Carers Voice has been working in partnership with Your Park Bristol and Bath. First, we researched what makes it difficult for carers and their loved ones to access and enjoy parks, and then we engaged carers in workshops to create a tool for carers and disabled people to assess their local parks. This winter we supported local carers and disabled people to use this tool to create an accessibility plan for Hartcliffe Millenium Green. 

In 2002 carers already exhausted by the pandemic, were hit by the Cost of Living Crisis. Carers Voice began to lobby Local Authorities to support carers who cannot make ends meet with Household Support Fund payments for essentials such as food, utilities, energy bills, and petrol. Since early 2023 South Glos and Bristol Councils earmarked some of this funding for carers and gave the Carers Support the opportunity to offer payments to carers asking for financial support with essentials.  

During the pandemic, hospitals tried a new way to discharge people from hospitals, called Discharge to Assess (sometimes called Home First) later endorsed by the Health and Care Act 2022. Rather than waiting for a care assessment in the hospital, patients are discharged as soon as clinically possible. Their care needs and their carers’ support needs are assessed where they live, in their homes or community settings. The goals are to increase patients’ independence, the number of hospital beds available, and avoid hospital readmissions.

In 2023, Carers Voice worked closely with the local Discharge to Assess transformation team, to lobby for carers to be involved in their loved one’s discharge plans and support services, including the discharge to assess support grant. During Carers Week 63 carers took part in workshops to test the program’s information and promotion material to ensure it was carer-focused and accessible to carers. 

Roundtable Discussion on BNSSG Discharge to Assess Transformation Programme

Carer reps and carers co-produced this strategy, outlining what matters to carers to local carers, and the kind of support they most want and need. This co-production took place over a year period where carer representatives worked with the Council and other partners to hear the voices of many carers living and/or caring in South Glos. We have been working within the Carers Strategy Implementation Group to develop a 5-year action plan, to make sure that the strategy turns into real tangible changes, and we will continue to do so for the foreseeable future.