We recognise that family carers play a vital and increasing role in our society.
The NHS Constitution and the NHS Commitment to Carers recognise the importance of carers, and the need to ensure you are seen as partners in care, and often experts in the knowledge you bring about your family member.
By working together in partnership we recognise we can deliver an improved experience and better outcomes for your family member and yourself. We have a Carers' Policy: Recognising Carers as Partners in Care.
Frequently Asked Questions
My daughter is being admitted to a ward and she needs me to stay?
We have open access visiting if you wish to stay overnight and continue caring for your daughter. Let staff know in A&E or at your outpatient appointment if it is a planned admission.
I have heard I can get a sleeper chair for an overnight stay, is this correct?
We have two sleeper chairs each at Whipps Cross, Newham and The Royal London Hospital. We will do out best to make one of these available. Occasionally they are already in use. We are looking to increase the number across our sites.
I am happy to carry on with helping my son with his personal care, eating and drinking but I will need a break, can I get help?
We have a Carers' Plan which staff can discuss with you. This will help us by knowing what help you will continue to give but also how you can take care of yourself when you are staying, including breaks.
I have been told I no longer make decisions about my son's treatment as he is an adult, but I know him better than anyone else. How can I be involved?
If someone does not have an understanding (capacity) to make a decision about their care and treatment, the law says we need to involve family. Please be assured that your input is often essential.
I want to speak to the doctor about my daughter's treatment but am unable to visit during ward rounds when the doctor is there, what can I do?
Please speak to the nurse looking after your daughter and ask them to arrange a time for you to meet the doctor. The doctor looking after your daughter will then be able to fix a mutually agreed time. It is vitally important that you are kept up to date with care and treatment if your daughter does not have the capacity to make her own decisions.
I have been told that hospital needs to make reasonable adjustments for people who have learning disabilities. What does that mean?
By law, we need to ensure that people with disabilities get the same high-quality care and the same expected health outcomes as someone without a disability. This means we need to do some things a bit differently, for example, we allow carers to stay overnight, we see people at the beginning of a clinic to cut down on possible waiting, we can use easy read material to help the person understand.
My son has autism and doesn’t like noise. He finds hospitals very difficult, what can I do?
Letting us know in advance can be really helpful. You can contact the lead nurse for People with Learning Disabilities and agree what reasonable adjustments need to be made. You can also complete the Hospital Passport and give this to staff when you arrive.
National guidance tells us we need to put a Flag/Alert on our system that nurses and doctors can see telling us the person has a learning disability. We can add comments to this so if your son has to attend A&E we will know if he has extreme difficulty waiting in a busy area where it may be noisy.
The Hospital Passport is a great way to tell A&E staff what your son's needs are if he has to attend. It can be completed online and updated easily when you need to.