Ask our staff for a carer lanyard and card
If you give support to someone who uses our services, you can ask us for a carer lanyard and a card. You can wear your lanyard with your card or show your card when you come to our services with the person you support.
Families and carers of people using our services matter to us. By wearing a lanyard or showing a staff member a card, it will make it easier for us to know that you care for someone, and make sure you are getting the right support and information.
Many people who have a role in caring for one or more of our service users often do not identify themselves as a carer which means they might miss out on valuable information, advice and support.
A carer is a person who gives unpaid support to their partner, child, relative, friend, or anyone else who can’t live on their own, or whose health or wellbeing would get worse without their help.
If you would like a lanyard or a card, you can ask any member of staff in our services to give one to you. You can ask for a carers lanyard and card if you are an:
- unpaid carer – family members or friends who support someone
- paid carer – such as personal assistants
Our staff may also offer you support by:
- Helping you identify that you are a carer
- Asking if you wish to be recorded as a carer on our secure electronic patient record system. Doing this will mean that you do not have to repeat yourself each time you come into our services with the person you care for.
- Asking if you need any support and giving you a carers passport, and a carers pathway leaflet.
- Checking if you are registered with a carers organisation. Details of these can be found on our local support page of our website.
A carers lanyard looks like the image below:
A carers badge looks like the image below:
The team/ward where it was issued will write their details on the card for you.
Where the idea for carer lanyards and cards came from
The suggestion to have a generic carer lanyard and card that is recognised across all healthcare settings was put forward by a family and friend carer representative, Lynne, who is a volunteer with both South West Yorkshire Partnership Teaching NHS Foundation Trust and Healthwatch Kirklees.
Lynne worked with Healthwatch Kirklees colleagues and other community healthcare partners to provide support and promote the use of a carer lanyard that had already been designed and developed by the Mid Yorkshire Hospitals NHS Trust.
Lynne is a member of our Trust carers network and was an integral part of launching the scheme across our Trust.
The lanyard scheme was adopted as an action with the agreement of its members, carers leads, and community partners on this premise: to make carers instantly visible when attending services settings, in their carer role. It will also enable carers to be signposted to other sources of community support, including their local carer organisation.
Our Trust endorsed those lanyards and have now developed and produced a similar lanyard scheme for all their inpatient and community teams. The lanyards are recognisable and can be used across all our health and care services, along with a card which can be attached to the lanyard. The card can be used separately for people who wish to identify themselves as carers more discretely and includes a QR code which links to our resources.
Other places that recognise and provide the lanyard and a card are:
- Locala
- Mid Yorkshire Teaching NHS Trust
- Calderdale and Huddersfield NHS Foundation Trust
- Kirklees Council
- GP practices in Kirklees
- Carers Count, Carers Wakefield and Making Space in Calderdale
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