Adult Carer Support Plan

What are Adult Carers entitled to?

Adult Carer Support Plan

An Adult Carer Support Plan is carried out to identify how being a carer is impacting on an individual's health and wellbeing and is designed to help improve and support this. The support plan is completed by having a conversation with a professional who works in health, social work or South Ayrshire Carers Gateway, or someone you feel comfortable talking to.

All adult carers are entitled to a support plan, regardless of the amount or type of care provided, financial means or level of need for support. They do not necessarily have to live with the cared for individual or be caring full-time, someone who is juggling work and care, could find that this is having a significant impact on their life.

The support plan gives carers the opportunity to identify;

• their thoughts and feelings about caring
• their relationship with the cared for person
• their social and leisure activities
• their physical and mental health
• their education and work life goals
• what would help support their caring role
• whether a short break is needed
• what would happen in an emergency, if you were unable to care.

If an individual is sharing caring responsibilities with another person, or more than one person, including a child under 18, they can both have an Adult Carer Support Plan. Young carers who are helping to care for a sibling should be offered a separate Young Carers Statement.

When your Adult Carer Support Plan is complete, we will let you know whether your needs are eligible for support from South Ayrshire Health and Social Care Partnership. We use Local Eligibility Criteria to help us make this decision.

Even if you do not meet the eligibility criteria you are still entitled to support, advice and guidance from a range of relevant community based services, for example, help from South Ayrshire Carers Gateway. We will only provide funded support to carers who have been assessed as having a critical level of needs.

Additional support

Additional support is provided by South Ayrshire Health and Social Care Partnership and our commissioned carers service, Carers Gateway South Ayrshire.

For details of additional support from our commissioned carers service, Carers Gateway South Ayrshire, please visit: https://hscp.south-ayrshire.gov.uk/CarersGatewaySouthAyrshire

If you think an Adult Carer Support Plan could benefit you, please contact your local South Ayrshire Health and Social Care Partnership office on 0300 123 0900. You can also contact South Ayrshire Carers Gateway on 01292 263 000, who can discuss and complete an Adult Carer Support Plan with you. 

Click here for more information and details of how to apply