Essentially a Carer Passport is a record which identifies a carer in some way and sets out an offer of support, services or other benefits in response. The better the offer, the more difference the Carer Passport will make for carers.
In this project, we’re focusing on Carer Passport schemes in hospitals, employers, communities, mental health trusts, schools, colleges and universities.
None of these organisations is required to run a Carer Passport scheme. While running a scheme can be a big undertaking, the benefits of doing so – to carers, to the organisations themselves, to the wider community – are clearly set out on this website.
By drawing attention to these benefits, we aim to inspire more organisations to set up effective schemes.
How you can help
Find out if there are any existing Carer Passport schemes (or similar schemes) which you could benefit from. See below for ideas about how to find this information out.
If there aren’t any existing schemes which are applicable to you, then why not send our Carer Passport Guide to a relevant organisation so they can read about the benefits for themselves? You could be the reason they set up a scheme which could benefit thousands of other carers!
EMPLOYMENT
If your employer has a Carer Passport, it should be listed among your organisation’s caring policies or staff benefits.
If you cannot find evidence of it, you could simply ask whoever manages human resources at your organisation, attaching our Guide to Carer Passports so they can see the benefits for themselves.
HOSPITAL
If you are not sure whether your hospital offers a Carer Passport, you could check with your local Patient Advice and Liaison Service.
They might already have some schemes in place to identify carers. This would include John's Campaign for people caring for someone with dementia, the Butterfly Scheme, and there are a few others. Don’t forget that they might not be called a Carer Passport but might be called a Carers Card, etc. Even if there are existing schemes, a Carer Passport can really help draw these schemes together.
If they don’t have an existing scheme, could you make contact in person, or via email or social media, drawing attention to our Guide to Carer Passports to help them get started or develop their support for carers?
COMMUNITY
In some areas Carer Passport schemes are called something else, such as a Carers Card or Carers Discount Card, etc. In some areas a Carers Emergency Card acts as a Carers Passport and offers discounts when a carer shows the card.
There is no requirement for any region or authority to issue a Carer Passport, though they can be a really helpful tool to improve carer identification and support.
Your local carers organisation or local authority is the best place to check whether there is already a Carer Passport operational in your area. If you are not sure where to find your local support and local authority then check here:
Carers UK local support directory
Carers Trust services directory