Survey of carers in Denbighshire
Lead Organisation: Denbighshire County Council
The survey was carried out between April and June 2019 and had 35 responses.
Information and advice
The key findings were:
- The main places people look for information are google / internet, which about twice as many participants used as the next most popular which were family, friends and neighbours or the GP.
- The most common sources of advice were family, friends and neighbours, closely followed by the third sector and GPs.
- The most useful information found was about care and repair services, although only a small number of people answered this question.
- The information that people most wanted was useful financial advice.
Support for carers
Most people said they weren’t aware of the services available to support carers and that the council could do more to respond effectively to carers’ needs.
Many carers said that they weren’t able to continue in work or education because of their caring role with only 4 out of the 35 participants who said they continued full time. Around half of the people employed said their employer was supportive and most people said that they’d not been able to continue with leisure activities.
The main themes in the comments that carers made were:
- Not being able to get advice from one contact or source is a frustration
- Lack of time / opportunity to look for information yourself
- Finding communication channels and processes longwinded and not simple to navigate
- Financial pressures adding to burdens
- Services that are offered are of great value to recipients
- Unpredictable arrival times and constantly changing staff are not helpful for carer or the person cared for