As we come towards the end of Carers Week 2025, we want to spotlight the support available locally through Falkirk and Clackmannanshire Carers Centre.

The Falkirk & Clackmannanshire Carers Centre provides information and support to unpaid carers (including young carers aged 8 – 18 years old, young adult carers up to age 25, and adult carers aged 25 and over) living in Falkirk District and Clackmannanshire. They work to ensure that carers are recognised and valued, whilst receiving the information and support they need.

This year’s theme for Carers Week is “Caring About Equality”, aiming to highlight the inequalities unpaid carers face due to their caring role. Aligned with this, we were pleased to host Falkirk and Clackmannanshire Carers Centre at our Health & Wellbeing Forum last week. With talks from Sharlene (Carers Voice/Carer Representative), Carly (Adult Carer Support Worker), and Mandy (Carer Representative), it was a timely occasion to learn more about the support available locally for unpaid carers – with our Partnership Development Manager, Eloise, reflecting:

“This is what the Carers Centre is all about, ensuring unpaid carers have the support they need to access equality.”

During the session, Sharlene highlighted the difficulty of ensuring this support is accessible, stating:

“Many carers are unaware of the support available to them, or what they’re entitled to. That’s what we’re here to help with. At the Carers Centre, they have the opportunity to have a conversation with a Carer Support Worker about their caring role and what’s important to them. Together, we’ll decide what kind of information or support might suit them best, and we’ll review things as time goes on.”

A recurring theme around why people are unaware of the support available to them is often that they do not identify themselves as an unpaid carer. As we mark Carers Week, CVS Falkirk & District is keen to support the Carers Centre team’s efforts to change this, and raise awareness of what a Carer is.

Anyone can be a carer. According to Scottish Government,

“You’re an unpaid carer if you help a family member, friend or neighbour who needs it. They may need care if they: are disabled; have a mental health condition; are ill, including terminally ill; have an addiction; or are older. You can be an unpaid carer even if you do not live with them, you’re not related to them, you’re caring short term [temporarily] or only some of the time, and they do not get support from the council.”

With this in mind, we are glad of the opportunity this Carers Week to showcase support available from the Carers Centre:

help to access an Adult Carer Support Plan detailing what support you might be entitled to (or a Young Carer Statement for young carers aged 8 – 18 years old)
help with writing letters and filling in forms; or accompanying you to meetings
help to access welfare benefits and grants, such as Carer’s Allowance or Attendance Allowance
help to access a short break/respite opportunity
support to plan and prepare for an emergency, or for when the person you care for is in hospital or coming home

During our Health and Wellbeing Forum, the Carers Centre team stressed that the key to accessing support is the Adult Carer Support Plan: a personalised, written record of your caring role which explains each carer’s rights and entitlements. It can often include what your day to day looks like; detail your own physical, mental and emotional needs; and illustrate what support you can receive (such as financial and access to short breaks away from your caring responsibilities). It also establishes whether you are willing or able to continue caring, and sets out an emergency care plan covering issues such as who would provide care if you are ill or undertake a respite opportunity.

Essentially, the Plan ensures that both the carer and the person they care for are supported and safe. As Sharlene emphasised,

“It’s about enabling carers to feel supported, and have a life outside of care.”

Once carers have their Adult Carer Support Plan organised – which is reviewed on a regular basis with the Carers Centre throughout their caring journey – they will receive a written copy they can keep close at hand, which helps the individual to access their entitlements and be sure of their rights in different situations. If helpful or necessary, it can also be shared with other organisations providing support, including health services and local authorities.

While each local authority area in Scotland requires their own version of the Adult Carer Support Plan, existing Plans can be used as a starting point for meeting these requirements. This is especially relevant if the person you care for lives in a different area from you – for example, you, the carer, live in Falkirk District, but the person you care for lives in West Lothian. However, some local authorities are willing to work with existing Plans, so it is always worth highlighting that you have a Plan in place, and asking the relevant authority about the process in that area.

In order to be as supportive as possible, the Adult Carer Support Plan should be created and implemented as early in the caring journey as possible. However, during our session, the Carers Centre team recognised that, unfortunately, people can become carers for loved ones overnight, “going straight into crisis mode”. Therefore, while having a Adult Carer Support Plan is incredibly effective when used as a preventative measure, they can still help carers when created in that initial crisis period.

The Plan is not about scrutinising or assessing how well you look after the person you care for – it is about making sure you, the carer, are well and supported. Which is exactly what the Carers Centre and their team aim to do.

A key message shared by the Falkirk and Clackmannanshire Carers Centre team during this session is that “3 in 5 will become Carers at some stage in our lives”. Therefore, if you or someone you know find yourself in a caring role, contact their team for information or support, by phone: 01324 611510, or email: centre@centralcarers.co.uk.

This Carers Week, why not build on your knowledge about the role of unpaid carers and the support and processes available, by visiting the Falkirk and Clackmannanshire Carers Centre website (linked for your convenience).

For further information about the support available to unpaid carers locally, please view the Health and Wellbeing Forum Carers Centre presentation (linked for your convenience as a pdf).