The Garth Surgery in Guisborough and Parkway Medical Centre in Coulby Newham are celebrating their achievement of carer-friendly GP practice status, bringing the total number of practices in South Tees to have this status to 12, with a further 8 working towards it.
At The Garth Surgery, 446 patients are now identified as carers, an increase from 223 over the past two years. Many of these were previously ‘hidden’ carers, identified through the practice’s focused work to better recognise and support people in caring roles.
“We’ve always worked hard to identify carers, but this has helped us focus on finding those who may be hidden,” explained Practice Manager Tara Rose. “And with more staff and better use of social media, we’re now able to raise awareness and reach more people.”
The surgery actively works to identify unpaid carers, understand their
needs and offer support. This includes flexible appointments, sharing information about available help, and connecting carers to local services to support their health and wellbeing.
Joanne, Reception Manager and one of several Carer Ambassadors within the surgery, said:
“What really surprised me going through this process, and where I learned a lot, was the different types of carers that there are, such as young carers, kinship carers and parent carers. It’s made a real difference to be aware of this when identifying people who may not see themselves as carers. Because there’s much greater awareness and understanding of carers across the team, it’s not just clinicians who can support carers, we can do that on reception too.”
Parkway Medical Centre has also made strong progress in identifying
and supporting carers. The practice currently has 359 unpaid carers on its register, aged between 15 and over 80.
Through proactive work, including sending text messages to patients and making registration forms easily available in reception, the practice has identified 60 previously ‘hidden’ carers.
The practice also ensures that where an unpaid carer is referred to hospital, this information is included in referral letters. This helps hospitals plan appropriately, particularly if the carer themselves needs to be admitted.
All staff at Parkway Medical Centre have completed carer awareness training delivered by Susan Lee, Primary Care Co-ordinator at Teesside Mind, with plans to include this as part of induction for all new staff.
Susan Lee, who supported both practices, added:
“I’m really pleased for both teams and they deserve this recognition as they work very hard to identify and support patients who are in caring roles. GPs are such an important first point of contact for carers, and recognising and supporting them early can have a hugely positive impact. So often, people in caring roles don’t think about their own health and wellbeing, yet it’s so important that they do, for themselves, the person they care for, and services, so they really need to be a priority.”
You can find out more about how GP surgeries can support unpaid carers and see which practices have achieved or are working towards carer-friendly status here
