Carers week is Monday 9 to Sunday 15 June 2025

Do you care for someone close to you?

Caring usually develops out of existing family or other relationships and most of us will be carers at some point in our lives. Carers can provide practical and emotional support and help with personal care.

Carers weeks theme this year is “Caring about Equality” highlighting the inequalities faced by unpaid carers, including greater risk of poverty, social isolation, poor mental and physical health. Far too often, carers of all ages miss out on opportunities in their education, careers or personal lives because of their caring role.

Help unpaid carers feel recognised, valued and supported

What you can do for people who are unpaid carers or if you are a carer?

• listen to carers and recognise them as equal partners in care
• make sure they know support is available for them. Carers can be so busy looking after the person they care for that they forget to look after their own health and well being
• share the details of our local carer support service Carers of East Lothian, phone 0131 665 0135 or online at https://www.coel.org.uk/
• if you have their permission you can even refer them for support through Carers of East Lothians online portal https://www.coel.org.uk/contact-us/online-referral-form/ its quick and easy and is one less thing for the carer to do
• let carers know about all the great events going on this Carers week, Carers of East Lothian have a full programme of events designed to increase carer health and well being and give carers the chance to meet other people who may have similar experience
• if you are in touch with a young person who is providing unpaid care they can get support from our Young Carers Service by filling out a short questionnaire online, again if you have their permission you can do this with them

What you can do to help others see what unpaid carers do?

Unpaid carers can feel invisible to even the people closest to them. To make sure they are recognised and supported we need equality for carers.

• share the carers week campaign, resources for you to download or print can be found here: https://www.carersweek.org/planning-your-carers-week/resources-and-downloads/
• share social media posts from East Lothian HSCP
• share social media posts from Carers of East Lothian, our local carers centre

If you want to find out more about supporting carers you can complete the Equal Partners in Care modules available on TURAS, which is a digital platform developed by NHS Education for Scotland to support health and care professionals working in the public sector, or contact carers@eastlothian.gov.uk to discuss any ways we might improve carer support in your community.