Who cares for the carers?

There are an increasing number of ‘champions’ for a wide range of health conditions¹ and carers’ champions are one of them. They can be based in a number of clinical settings, the more relevant being GP practices and community health centres. They are often the practice nurse or healthcare assistant/support worker. An increasing number of GP practices are asking the practice receptionist to fulfil this role with specific and ongoing training and professional development. Carers’ champions carry out a number of important roles outlined in Box 1.

Box 1: Duties of a carers’ champion

Advantages of a carers’ champion
The impact a GP or community health centre-based carers’ champion can make on the health and wellbeing of these informal care givers is likely to be significant and increasing numbers of GP and health centres have understood this impact. However, not all do.