Annual Health Checks for Carers
On this page
- Lead organisation
Carers in Bedfordshire
- Project contact
Harriet Opalinski
In February 2023, we recruited a Community Nurse to complete health checks for carers who support people with severe mental illnesses (as well as health checks for the people they care for).
54% of carers say that caring has affected their physical health (Carers UK, 2023) and people with a severe mental illness (SMI) experience some of the worst health inequalities.
By completing health checks at home, we can give people access to services they might not have been able to draw on otherwise. And with plenty of time allowed for the visit, carers can open up about their health concerns and feel heard. The Nurse has also created webinars and other health resources to try to reach more people.
The number of carers we support with their physical health has increased from 13 per month to 32 per month. To the end of September, 85 health checks had been completed. 24% identified further medical issues, such as pre-diabetes, hypertension, high cholesterol. Although 80% of the people who received a health check had a physical health condition, none had had a professional medical assessment to detect those conditions. 32% of people who accessed health checks have been referred to community services such as stop smoking services, exercise programmes, and further carer support.
This new role helps ensure cares receive more personalised, joined up healthcare. Assessment outcomes are sent to the person’s GP and the nurse can make referrals to other healthcare services.
- Partners
East London Foundation Trust
- Project duration
February 2023 – March 2024
- Key beneficiaries
People with a Serious Mental Illness and their carers
Annual Health Checks for Carers
Why we started this initiative
In Bedfordshire, carers are triaged with a comprehensive wellbeing scoring system, encompassing mental health, physical health, caring role, finances, and social networks. Trends revealed low physical health scores among many carers. Investigations showed that carers were neglecting self-care due to a variety of factors linked to not being able to attend appointments with healthcare professionals.
Using existing Link Workers performing carer assessments for those caring for individuals with severe mental illness, ELFT and CiB collaborated in a pilot program to address these issues, prioritising the physical health of carers and their loved ones who have a Severe Mental Illness (SMI).
Our Goals
Our initiative encompasses three key components:
1. Annual Health Checks: Employing a registered nurse to conduct 280 health checks for individuals with severe mental illness (SMI) and their carers. This ensures timely care for those with SMI, increases the frequency of carer health checks, and offers flexible, joint appointments to accommodate both parties.
2. Health Webinars: Delivering informative sessions on medical conditions and treatments relevant to people drawing on care and support, empowering carers with knowledge for confident caregiving.
3. Information and Resources: Establishing a resource library to inform and empower carers, encouraging proactive health checks and informed decision-making.
How we’re implementing it
Our Nurse receives referrals from both our dedicated Carer Link Workers in community mental health teams and directly from carers of individuals with severe mental illness (SMI).
To ensure comprehensive coverage across Bedfordshire, the nurse strategically allocates specific days for home visits in different areas. Recognising diverse preferences, she also conducts ‘clinic sessions’ within the community for those who prefer not to have home health checks, thus optimising accessibility and accommodating varied needs within the community.
Throughout the course of this project, we have garnered valuable insights, exemplified by the following key observations:
1. Policy and Infrastructure Review: Carers in Bedfordshire meticulously examined policies, risk assessments, and insurances to accommodate new clinical activities.
2. Accessibility Challenges with SMI Groups: Overcoming inherent challenges in reaching certain SMI groups due to the nature of the illness presented a notable hurdle.
3. Cultural and Language Barriers: Engaging people from Black, Asian or ethnic minority backgrounds posed challenges initially, subsequently mitigated through the support of multilingual Carers in Bedfordshire employees who facilitated communication pre- and post-health check.
4. Technical Challenges with Whzan Blue Box: The utilisation of the Whzan Blue Box for health checks encountered initial issues, particularly with lipid sample numbers, necessitating kit calibration to align with GP test results.
5. Administrative Complexity: Integration with GP systems posed administrative challenges, as the Whzan Blue Box doesn’t transmit data directly. To ensure comprehensive data incorporation into the NHS system and patient records, manual submission of a Word document became a necessary step. We have also collaborated with Bedoc who upload the templates for us onto the systems for all GP surgeries which is much more effective.