Our Partnership is made up of organisations working closely together to plan services and address the challenges facing health and care services across the area.
In this section you will find links to useful information and publications about our partnership.
We are committed to meaningful conversations with people, on the right issues at the right time. We believe this is an important part of the way we work.
Engagement gives people an opportunity to have their say on services. By gathering people's views, it helps us understand what matters to people.
In this section you will find all Freedom of Information (FOI) requests made to our Partnership. You can also ask a question of your own.
We aspire to be a place where carers are recognised and given the support they need to both manage their caring role and remain in work and education, no matter where they live in West Yorkshire and Harrogate.
There are an estimated 260,000 unpaid carers living in West Yorkshire and Harrogate, including children and young people caring for parents with long-term health conditions. The "Caring Behind Closed Door" report published October 2020 suggests there could be an additional 4.5 million carers because of Covid-19, 2.8 million of whom are juggling work and care. 81% of carers are now providing more care and many are seeing the needs of the person they care for increase.
On top of this we recognise there is an increased number of vulnerable and high risk carers, including carers with health conditions, carers over 70, carers from ethnic minorities, and young carers.
The Unpaid Carers programme is an award winning programme winning System Led Support for Carers at the 2019 HSJ Awards, and highly commended for Workforce Initiative Award of the Year in 2020.
Many carers are ‘hidden’ and provide the majority of care without formal support. Being a carer can be stressful and have a major impact on your health, relationships, education and employment. With this in mind we are working with NHS England to ensure that identifying carers and supporting them is further embedded within our work. This includes developing ways to support the existing and future workforce who balance caring responsibilities, signposting and identifying service standards for all organisations – not just in the public sector.
Read more about our approach to improve the support for unpaid carers in West Yorkshire and Harrogate in our strategy document, 'Caring for Carers'.
You can view the programme's response to the Carers UK report 'Caring behind closed doors during Covid-19' here.
West Yorkshire and Harrogate carers resources are being shared nationally. This includes the working carers passport via NHS England and NHS Improvement and e-learning Resources developed specifically for carers developed by Health Education England.
Around 1/9 people in general employment, 1/7 in civil service staff and working 1/5 NHS staff are juggling work with caring.
The scheme provides a straightforward way to document flexibility and support so it can be carried into an employee’s future roles, without having to repeat the same conversations.
Our Working carers and Covid-19 web-based resource has been developed to help unpaid carers who work, look after the person they care for, and themselves, during these unprecedented times. It covers: money worries; your rights as an employee; looking after your mental and physical health; healthy eating; looking after the person you care for; looking after children's mental and physical health; and trying to get back to 'normal'.
The Young Carers Support App, launched on Young Carers Action Day 2021, is a one-stop shop for young carers in West Yorkshire and Harrogate with advice and information on relationships, education, your health and more.
More information on how we continue to support young carers coming soon.
Although caring can be rewarding, there is substantial evidence that carers have poorer physical and mental health than those who are not caring, and that the more care you provide the more likely you are to have poorer health.
For many carers, the biggest priority is the health and wellbeing of those they care for and as such they are more likely to neglect their own health and are known to put off treatment for themselves. – with this in mind we are working closely with primary care professionals, including GPs and practice nurses to give carers the support they need.
NHS England and Improvement have created guidance with practical ideas that have been developed in partnership with carers, primary care teams and other key stakeholders. Collectively, these provide a framework for improving how general practice can better identify and support carers of all ages.
You can find out more about the Primary Care Quality Markers here.
As part of the programmes communication and engagement strategy, system leaders from across the Voluntary and Community Sector, Local Authority, NHS Acute Trusts and primary care are invited to make a pledge to better support unpaid carers within their organisations in line with national care awareness days.
Carers Week 2020
Young Carers Awareness Day 2020
As the pandemic has progressed, it has become clear that in addition to some people experiencing the death of people they care about, or care for, in difficult and painful circumstances, many are feeling the impact of a loss of a way of life, normal contact opportunities, social and work interactions. Restrictions may also mean that the usual practical and emotional support people can physically get from family, friends, faith groups, community groups during difficult times may not be there.
The WY&H HCP Grief and Loss Service aims to bolster the local place offer by offering information and advice and, where appropriate, signposting into local place based services for specific counselling or other support.
The service is a free telephone helpline that operates 8am-8pm, 7 days a week and online chat facility.
More information about how to access the service.
West Yorkshire and Harrogate Health and Care Partnership want to develop a mechanism that engages young people with the health and care sector to inspire them to pursue a career in the sector. And to help raise the aspirations of young carers by helping them to idenitfy and recognise their own skills and showcasing work opportunities and the diversity of roles available to them.
The Partnership commissioned Ahead Partnership to help them support one of the workforce recommendations set out in their strategy to 'increase the number of people training to work in health and social care role across West Yorkhsire and Harrogate'.
An engagement event took place on Tuesday 25 June 2019 at 3M Buckley Innovation Centre in Huddersfield. 31 young people attended the event which provided an opportunity for young carers from across Kirklees and Calderdale to come together.
You can read the report of findings here.
