The Community Care and Health (Scotland) Act 2002 requires each NHS Board to prepare a Carer Information Strategy and the then Scottish Executive provided guidance on the minimum requirements of what these should contain in April 2006.
More recently the Scottish Government has made resources available over the three years from 2008-2011 to enable local NHS Boards to progress key actions in their Carer Information Strategies.
NHS Boards' Carer Information Strategies require to:
- ensure that local agencies, carer organisations and those representing young carers and black and minority ethnic carers are actively involved in developing and delivering the Carer Information Strategy.
- evidence how local need has been identified and how it will be met by each agency
- ensure that NHS staff are able to identify carers and as a minimum signpost them to dedicated support services for patients, carers or people with specific conditions.
- demonstrate how hospital and primary care staff are promoting carer identification, are providing targeted information and integrating carers' right to assessment in hospital discharge and admission procedures.
- include plans for training NHS frontline staff to identify and provide information to carers, to signpost them to sources of support and advice and advise them of their right to an assessment.
- include plans for training carers, including "expert carer" programmes, and training that provides advice on physical and emotional well-being, moving and handling techniques, stress management and on caring for people with particular conditions (e.g. dementia, MS, mental health problems, substance misuse).
As a requirement of the legislation, NHS Boards have each identified a lead person responsible for developing their Carer Information Strategy, for making this publicly available and for submitting progress reports and plans to the Scottish Government.
NHS Carer Information Strategies: Minimum Requirements and Guidance on Implementation: HDL (2006) 22