Written evidence from Carers UK (HAB0156)

 

 

 

Dear Stephen

 

Many thanks for your letter of 20 May. It was a pleasure to attend the Committee and have the opportunity to convey the lived experience of carers when undergoing medical assessments.

 

I was fortunate enough to receive many accounts from carers regarding their experiences, and as you heard, these were very mixed. There were some interesting trends that may have bearing on the Committee’s plans.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

On a different but related issue of whether virtual or face-to-face assessments are better or worse for carers, in our State of Caring 2021 survey of over 8,000 carers, we asked them whether digital had made things worse, better or no change in their experience.  48% of unpaid carers had not used some kind of video consultation i.e. Teams, Zoom, Whatsapp for health and care services. Out of those who had, one quarter said it made caring harder, 30% said no change and 43% said it made caring easier.  We did not ask this question in terms of benefits assessments, but it’s clear that an informed choice must be made as we set out here, in order to ensure that the right decisions are being made, using the most appropriate form of communication.

 

Carers UK’s recommendations on the specific topic of virtual assessments is:

 

 

 

 

I do hope that this information adds to the body of evidence being considered by the Committee, and I would be happy to clarify if you have any further questions. I very much look forward to the findings and recommendations of the Committee later in the year.

 

Yours sincerely

 

A pair of black glasses

Description automatically generated with medium confidence

 

Aaron Dryden

Director of Carer Support

 

June 2022