A Lancashire health trust has been recognised by the Carers' Trust Triangle of Care programme.
Lancashire and South Cumbria NHS Foundation Trust has been recognised for its continued efforts and commitment to improving the way it works with carers and families.
As a trust is has now achieved the one-star accreditation, meaning the majority of inpatient wards and home treatment teams have committed to make a difference to the lives of carers, by self-assessing their service provision for carers to highlight what is working well and what could be improved.
A carer can be anyone, including both children and adults who look after a family member, partner or friend who needs help because of their illness, frailty, disability, a mental health problem or addiction and they cannot cope without their support.
The care they give is unpaid and in England and Wales, there are an estimated five million carers, and that number is increasing year on year.
The Triangle of Care is a working collaboration between the service user, professional and carer, that promotes safety, supports recovery, and sustains well-being.
The trust said it is committed to changing it culture to one that is carer inclusive and supportive.
Associate Chief Nurse of Patient Experience Paul Jebb said: "To be accredited by the Carers Trust like this is wonderful news for the Trust and fantastic work by the team.
“It's so important to support and involve carers who are central to the lives of our service users, and great it's been acknowledged we offer person centred care involving carer, professional and service user as part of the Triangle of Care."
The Triangle of Care was initially developed to improve mental health acute services by adopting these six principles:
- Carers and the essential role they play are identified at first contact or as soon as possible thereafter.
- Staff are 'carer aware' and trained in carer engagement strategies.
- Policy and practice protocols regarding confidentiality and sharing information, are in place.
- Defined post(s) responsible for carers are in place.
- A carer introduction to the service and staff is available, with a relevant range of information across the care pathway.
- A range of carer support services are available.
The standards then include a rigorous self-assessment and action plan to demonstrate how LSCft is involving and supporting carers, promoting the important role they have and further improving services for carers.
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On awarding the reaccreditation, a representative for Carers Trust commended the great deal of work and effort to bring teams into Triangle of Care that has occurred, following the appointment of the trust's Carer Experience and Improvement Manager, Jenna Matthews, in 2022, and noted the success of its Service User and Carer Council driving the involvement of carers forward.
The trust said it "looks forward to working with community services including mental health, learning disability, dementia, and substance misuse services in order to achieve its two-star accreditation status".
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