Carers Report – March 2020 Update: Derbyshire County Council Response

Between January and March 2019, Healthwatch Derbyshire (HWD) engaged with carers both in, and not in, receipt of services to explore their views and experiences around the themes of the SACE. The information presented will help Derbyshire County Council (DCC) to understand the challenges faced by carers and how they can best plan and respond to them across the system.

Derbyshire County Council (DCC) carry out the biennial Survey of Adult Carers in England (SACE) which seeks the opinions of adult carers, caring for an adult 18 and over, on a number of topics that are considered to be indicative of a balanced life alongside the unpaid caring role. The survey is designed to help the adult social care sector understand more about how services are affecting carer’s lives.

On a national level, the SACE has suggested very little movement in terms of improving outcomes for carers and shown a steady decline in the last five years in overall satisfaction on what was, in survey terms, already at a low level. Locally, the SACE has also reflected a gradual decline in satisfaction, which was hard to unpick given the tick box nature of the survey, leaving DCC with some gaps in their knowledge and understanding of carers’ quality of life.