The Green House Surgery in Redcar is celebrating its second year as a Carer Friendly GP Practice, reinforcing its commitment to recognising and supporting unpaid carers across the local community.
As the first GP practice in Redcar & Cleveland and South Tees to achieve Carer Friendly status, the surgery has continued to build on its work to identify patients that help care for a family member or friend and connect them with the support available to them.
Over the past three years, the practice has seen a significant increase in the number of unpaid carers recorded on its carers register:
• 2023: 306 unpaid carers recorded
• 2024: 685 unpaid carers recorded
• 2025: 1,037 unpaid carers recorded
The increase reflects the practice's continued focus on raising awareness of caring roles and helping more people access support.
Lynne Waldon, Deputy Business Manager at Green House Surgery, leads on the work and is passionate about helping unpaid carers receive the recognition and support they deserve. She said:
"It's important that we raise awareness about unpaid carers and help uncover 'hidden carers' as many patients see what they do as just being there for a family member or friend, rather than recognising themselves as carers."
As the practice enters its second year of carer-friendly status, it is introducing further initiatives to strengthen support for unpaid carers. This includes adding information about carers' support services to letters sent to patients who have recently received a cancer diagnosis and sharing information about carers' assessments to help people access additional support.
The surgery also recognises that caring responsibilities can affect its own staff.
By embedding carer awareness throughout the practice, Green House Surgery is helping more unpaid carers to be recognised and connected with the advice, services and support available locally.
With changes across the NHS placing an increasing emphasis on prevention, community-based support and reducing health inequalities, supporting unpaid carers is becoming more important than ever.
Unpaid carers play a vital role in helping people remain independent and well, and GP practices have an important role to play in recognising their contribution and connecting them with support.
Through its continued commitment to unpaid carers, Green House Surgery is helping to lead the way in creating a more carer-friendly health service across South Tees. Jade Lavan is a patient at Green House Surgery and a carer for her partner:
As a nurse, I understand the importance of high-quality clinical care and support. I am also a carer for my husband, who has cardiac health problems, while working full-time and managing a number of voluntary commitments.
Having been registered with the Greenhouse Surgery for over ten years, I would like to acknowledge the excellent care and support my husband and I have received over the past year.
From the reception team to the nurse practitioners and GPs, staff have consistently been responsive, professional, compassionate and supportive. I always feel listened to, treated with dignity and respect, and reassured.
My experience reflects the surgery’s commitment to being carer friendly. The care we have received has made a real difference during a very challenging time, and I am sincerely grateful to the whole team.
The Carer Friendly GP Practice programme continues to gather momentum across South Tees. So far, 13 GP practices across Middlesbrough and Redcar & Cleveland have achieved Carer Friendly status, with a further seven practices currently working towards it.
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