South Tyneside and Sunderland NHS Foundation Trust recognises that carers play an important role in the continuing care of many of our patients during their hospital stay and in planning their discharge.
A carer is anyone, including children and adults who looks after a family member, partner or friend who needs help because of their illness, frailty, disability, a mental health problem or an addiction and cannot cope without their support. The care they give is unpaid.
Our staff recognise the great value and importance of carers who provide care to people who use our services. We are strongly committed to supporting and working in partnership with carers in order to ensure we can provide the highest quality and most effective care possible.
Carer passport
It can be difficult when someone you care for has to go into hospital. You may want to help care for them. We support and encourage you to be as involved as you want to be. Our Carer Passport Scheme helps to identify you as their carer. The following two documents will give you more information:
John's Campaign
We support John’s campaign and have signed up to this pledge:
'We aim to work in partnership with carers as part of our commitment to provide high quality care for our patients. Carers for dementia patients are offered extended and flexible visiting hours to meet the needs of the individual, in support of John's Campaign’
For more information about how John's Campaign supports patients with dementia please click here.
Carers' Charter
Our Carers’ Charter is our commitment to all carers. We have identified six key priorities. To find more information please click here.
Your experience matters to us. Please give us your feedback and suggestions
If you have used our Carer Passport Scheme your experience is really important to us, please click here to take you straight to the survey.
If you have any other comments or suggestions about how we can support Carers please email stsft.patientexperienceteam@nhs.net
Local support for carers
Our local Carers Centres offer information, advice, and guidance to carers in the local area. They can offer opportunities to meet with other carers and links to organisations for onward support.
Telephone: 0191 4061531 Email: STACS@cgl.org.uk
South Tyneside Young Carers Service
Telephone: 0191 4661389 Email: styc@humankindcharity.org.uk
Telephone: 0191 5493768 Email: contactus@sunderlandcarers.co.uk
Telephone: 0191 0300 0051231 Email: admin@dccarers.org
Telephone: 0191 4900121 Email: enquiries@gatesheadcarers.com
Telephone: 020 73784999 Email: info@carersuk.org
Telephone: 0300 772 9600 Email: info@carers.org
Sharing information with unpaid carers
Please click here for more information and advice for those being cared for, carers and health and care professionals about how to share confidential information about an individual to support their care.
Carers Rights
Carers Rights Day 2022: Caring Costs
Thursday 24th November
This year’s theme, for Carers Rights Day is Caring costs. Examples of the costs of caring are listed below–
- The cost to a carers’ wellbeing and ability to access health services
- The financial cost associated with looking after someone
- The cost of a career or employment options
- Cost of the quality of relationships
- Current cost of living crisis
It is important if you have recently become a carer or have been for many years understand their rights to access the support that is available to them as soon as they need it
We want to empower carers with information and support, so they feel confident to ask what they need and can challenge when their rights are not being met.
On Monday 21st November, Sunderland Council Adult Social Care Service and associated partners visited the main concourse, B Floor, Sunderland Royal Hospital to provide information and offer assessments. They also looked to consult carers on what is important to them to inform the local Carers Strategy.
On Thursday 24th November, South Tyneside Adult Carers and Sunderland Carers Centre will be holding events. Our Patient Experience Team will be attending these events to promote the Carer Passport Scheme available for Carers within our hospitals and gather feedback from those who may have recently used the resource. Click here for more information.
