Carers - Who can get help?

The Acts define a carer as being:   

• an adult (aged 18 and over), 
• young person (aged 16 or 17) or 
• child (aged under 16)                    

who provides or intends to provide a substantial amount of care on a regular basis. This care would include personal care, physical or practical help, help with medical matters or supervising someone who is at risk.   

To be eligible for an assessment, a carer should be:   

• providing care to someone who would be eligible for services from us; and 
• providing a substantial amount of care on a regular basis.                    

‘Substantial’ and ‘regular’ are not defined in the Acts – these will depend on the impact the caring role has on the carer and will need to take account of:   

• the carer’s age, 
• their general health, 
• whether they are employed, 
• their interests and other commitments, 
• will the carer be able to continue to care and 
• is there a risk that the carer may not be able to continue to care?                    

Carers may be caring for:   

• children (under 16) with disabilities,
• young people (aged 16 and 17) and adults (aged between 18 and 65) with physical disabilities, 
• young people and adults with visual impairments (blindness) or hearing impairments (deafness),
• young people and adults with mental illnesses (like depression and schizophrenia), 
• young people and adults with learning disabilities or 
• older people (including people with dementia).)