Good Practice

ACE: Action for Carers and Employment (CARERS UK)

The ACE National partnership, led by Carers UK, is working to support the inclusion of carers in training and work, funded by the European Social Fund's Equal programme. More information

Download the reports:

• Diversity in caring: towards equality for carers
• Carers, employment and services in their local context
• Stages and transitions in the experience of caring
• Action for carers and their employment: impact of the ACE partnership 2002-7
• Managing caring and employment
• Carers, employment and services: time for a new social contract?

The road towards a carer-friendly organisation culture

From 2005-2007 the Dutch project Mantelzorg@work (Carers@work) developed several instruments for employers who want their business to become 'carer friendly'. The project was initiated by Mezzo, The Dutch Association for Carers and Voluntary Help, and Qidos a professional HR-consultancy.

To create a carer-friendly culture the project focused on awareness, acceptation and culture within organisations as previous research has demonstrated that these factors will be key issues to solve problems of carers successfully. Four Employers developed and tested the instruments within their organisation. All results were published in a toolkit for employers. The toolkit contains materials to support a campaign to raise awareness, brochures and workshops for managers and working carers, a business case for employers and a leaflets for HRM officer and employees counsel.

Over 600 toolkits were distributed among employers, national and local policymakers and carers' support centres. Several municipalities and large companies already started to develop carer-friendly policies within their own organisations. Most materials in the toolkit are written in Dutch and are available on the website http://www.werkenmantelzorg.nl

The project worked together with other EU funded projects in UK, Estonia, Latvia and Italy. As a result of this cooperation we developed also some brochures in English for employers and care workers (professionals):

• We care - do you? Balancing work and care - a professional's guide
• We care - do you? The triangle of care - domiciliary care for older people
• We care - do you? An employer's guide

Models for preventive home based rehabilitation for family carers

A local carer association in Finland has developed a model of home based rehabilitation that aims to ensure that eldery care recipients (aged 65 or more) are able to live as long as possible in their own homes.

Quality information for patients on discharge from hospital/safe transfer of care

Discharge summary is important in maintaining continuity of patient care fromhospital to primary health-care setting, particularly for elderly patients withomplex co-morbidities. Caring for Carers Ireland discharge summary project set out to improve the communication of discharge information between primary health care facilities and general practitioners through the design and implementation of a new discharge summary template and its subsequent evaluation over the next three years. The discharge summary form was paperbased. Post-implementation surveys of health providers and Carers revealed high satisfaction rate. More information

A relative or a friend as a substitute carer

In Finland family caregivers who receive a caregivers allowance from the municipality are allowed to get three free days a month. Because there is a lack of suitable substitute options, some municipalities offer a possibility for a relative or a friend of the family to act as a substitute carer. More information

Care 21 'The Future of Unpaid Care in Scotland'

Care 21 was commissioned by the Scottish Government in 2005 to assess future demand for unpaid family care, and identify key service developments to support the contribution of unpaid carers over the next 10 years.

• Care 21 - Headline report and recommendations
• Care 21 - Summary guide for carers
• Care 21 -  Executive response 

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