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About the Carers’ Clinical Liaison Service
This is a service to support unpaid carers whilst the person they care for is in hospital.
We are here to help if you are concerned about your own health, wellbeing or confidence to provide care.
We can work with you to design and deliver a plan of support for you, called a carer’s support plan.
The plan will include a carer’s agreement. This spells out how much you want to be involved while the person you care for is in hospital. See the box for more on this.
To organise this, the Carers’ Clinical Liaison Practitioner can meet you at the hospital or arrange a telephone call. We will work out what support you need. The Carers’ Clinical Liaison Practitioner is in the hospital Monday to Friday.
We are committed to ensuring that you’re heard and involved as much as you want to be.
Carer’s agreement
A document which tells staff how much care (such as feeding, washing, dressing) you would like to give whilst the person you care for is in hospital, and what care you would like the hospital to provide.
Who the service is for
This service is for unpaid carers living in any borough.
You are an unpaid carer if you care for a family member or friend who cannot cope without your support. This might be due to their illness, a disability, a mental health problem or an addiction.
Caring for someone could range from a few hours each week to 24 hours a day, seven days a week.
Being a carer means that you have certain rights and may be able to access some financial support. A Carer’s Clinical Liaison Practitioner can give you more information on this in your first meeting. Or we can put you in touch with your local carers’ centre (contact details for support in your local community are given at the end of this document).
Carer’s support plan
The Carer’s Clinical Liaison Practitioner can put together a support plan to help you with issues such as:
- emergency planning
- benefits and entitlements for carers
- social isolation
- accessing a Carers’ Assessment
- accessing counselling services
- putting together a carer’s agreement (see the box).
Getting a support plan
If your referral is accepted, we will have to go through a few steps with you to put the support plan together.
Firstly:
We will invite you to a meeting with the Carer’s Clinical Liaison Practitioner. We will talk to you and ask questions to get a clear understanding of what you need. We will then do the following.
- Go through a well-being checklist. This will help us understand how you feel about the care you are giving and how this may affect other parts of your life.
- Discuss a carer’s agreement (see box). If you wish to, you can continue your role as a carer whilst the person you care for is in Kingston Hospital. Or you can choose to let the staff take over some or all of the care.
- Give you information about your rights and what you are entitled to as an unpaid carer.
- Give you a personalised carer’s letter. This can also be emailed to you so that you can access hyperlinks.
- This personalised carer’s letter includes all sorts of guidance and information about:
- being an unpaid carer
- your rights at work if you are a carer
- what counselling is available in local areas
- planning ahead for an emergency (contingency plan)
- benefits and allowances
- local support.
The letter is intended to give you some reassurance, that you are not alone and there are lots of options to be explored to support you.
Secondly:
We can offer a second meeting with you a few days later. Together we will identify any issues which may affect you as a carer when the patient is discharged home from hospital. We can also help you plan ahead in case you are suddenly no longer able to continue caring, for example, if you are suddenly unwell. We can also give you a letter for your GP to describe how we have supported you. They can put it onto your medical file in case it is needed in the future.
Getting a referral
You cannot refer yourself to our service. All referrals should be made by a member of the ward team or anyone involved with the patient’s care at the hospital. The department will have the contact details.
You can ask to be referred to the Carer’s Clinical Liaison Practitioner if you feel you are struggling or will struggle to cope with your caring responsibilities either during or after a hospital stay.
Frequently asked questions
We do not need the patient’s consent before we speak to you, the unpaid carer. We are here to support your needs as a carer and not the person you care for.
We are here to help if you are an unpaid carer, whether the person you care for is in hospital or is being seen as an outpatient.
If you are struggling to care for someone, you can talk to your Carer’s Clinical Liaison Practitioner or ask your hospital team to refer you. We will make sure the hospital team understands what what’s going on at home and that you get the help you need.
We will attend ward rounds where necessary, to update the doctors and nurses about your caring role and the support we have agreed. We will also speak with the nurse in charge and make sure the whole team understand your situation and what support and referrals are being provided.
We cannot give any updates on behalf of the doctors or nurses to the carer or next of kin. Speak to one of the nurses on the ward if you have any medical questions.
Our job as Carers’ Clinical Liaison Practitioners is to focus on your concerns about your own health and wellbeing as an unpaid carer. We can tell you what help and support is available in your area. We can also refer you to any necessary services.
A Discharge Support Worker focuses on the patient. They make sure the discharge home goes as smoothly as possible. They may be in contact with you. However, this is to gather information about the patient and how the situation at home could be improved to fit the patient’s needs. They may focus on, for example:
- helping to get equipment ordered or delivered to the home
- assisting with getting a package of care in place.
On all wards, the nurse in charge know about the carer’s clinical liaison service. Speak to them and they may be able to answer your questions. If necessary, they can refer you to us.
The service is open Monday to Friday. We aim to contact you within 1 working day after receiving a referral.
The carer’s clinical liaison service is here to help whilst the person you care for is in hospital. If you need support once they are discharged, you should speak to your Local Authority Adult Social Care Service, your GP, or your local carers’ centre. They may be able to put some extra help in place to benefit you and the person you care for.
Local Authority and carers’ centres
| Borough | Local Authority details | Carers' Centre details |
|---|---|---|
Richmond |
Richmond Response and Rehabilitation Team Richmond Adults Emergency Duty team |
Richmond Carers Centre Support line |
Kingston |
Kingston Adult Social Care for advice or support Kingston Out of Hours Duty Social Worker |
Kingston Carers’ Network 020 3031 2757 admin |
Merton |
Merton Adult Social Care First Response Crisis Line in case of an emergency Out of Hours Service |
Carers First 0300 303 1555 hello |
Surrey |
Surrey Adult Social Care For emergencies out of hours |
Surrey Action for Carers (Monday, Thursday and Friday, 9am to 5pm, Tuesday and Wednesday, 9am to 6pm) 0303 040 1234 Text (SMS) 07723 486730 CarerSupport |
Wandsworth |
Wandsworth Adult Social Care (Monday to Friday, 9am to 5pm) 020 8871 7707 SMS (for the deaf or hard of hearing only) 07940 775107 Out of hours: 020 8871 8999 |
Wandsworth Carers’ Centre 020 8877 1200 info |
Sutton |
Sutton Council general enquiries 020 8770 5000 In an emergency, carers can contact: 020 8770 5000 020 8770 6080 Minicom (for hearing impaired people) 020 8770 5178 The automated message may tell you that the office is closed but there are staff there to take your call. Please hold on until they answer. |
Sutton Carers Centre 020 8296 5611 enquiries |
Hounslow |
Hounslow Adult Social Care 020 8583 3100 adultsocialcare Out of Hours (after 6pm) Duty Social Worker 020 8583 2222 |
None |
Contact information
Patient Advice and Liaison Service (PALS)