Family member, friend or carer of a service user?
You need support too
Across the UK today, there are around 6.5 million carers.
That’s one in eight adults – and that number is rising.
In North East Lincolnshire alone, there are 16,500 carers.
Caring impacts every part of your life – from relationships to finance and from employment to health.
Maybe you don’t see yourself as a carer. You’re someone's partner, a parent, child or friend and this support is just part of that role.
But if you provide unpaid support for someone who has an illness, disability, mental health illness or addiction – and doing this takes up a lot of your time – you’re a carer.
Your daily tasks might include some of the following:
- Making sure someone gets to regular appointments
- Doing someone’s shopping for them
- Helping someone to wash, dress or eat
- Helping someone to cope with a mental health illness
- Looking after someone’s finances
- Providing medical care
People often consider caring as something physical. But if you’re giving emotional support, that is considered to be part of a caring role, too.
Caring is unbelievably challenging and can affect you emotionally too, so we want to play our part in making sure you get the support you need.
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If you’re interested in a carer’s needs assessment to see if there is additional support that can be provided for you, we’ll carry out your assessment or support you and signpost you to the appropriate organisations
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We’ll welcome you into our community membership so you have a direct say on local mental health services
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We’ll provide carer groups, activities and training opportunities to meet your needs
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We make sure our staff are ‘carer-aware’, identifying when carers may have needs of their own and providing support or signposting to it where appropriate
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We’ll make you aware of Gardiner Hill Foundation grants you may be eligible for if you’re looking to access training or find finances to pay for extra support. You can apply online.
Get in touch
If you care for a NAViGO service user, you can now get support as a NAViGO carer through our website.
If you have any questions about the support and information available to you, you can call our team on (01472) 806800.
If you have any questions about the support and information available to you, you can email our team on NAV.carers@nhs.net.
If you’re in a mental health crisis and need urgent help, call the Single Point of Access on (01472) 256256 and select option 3. They are available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.
Alternatively, you can call NHS 111 free from a landline or mobile phone.
You can also text ORANGE to 85258 to start a text message conversation with a volunteer from Shout. This is a free, 24/7 service, but please be aware this service is not run by the NAViGO crisis team.