Care Bill [Lords]

Sarah Newton Excerpts

Monday 10th March 2014 Commons Chamber

[Paul Burstow]

The hon. Lady is not a convert. She has been consistent and clear in her pursuit of this provision, both with her own Government and with this Government, and I hope that eventually her persistence will pay off. It has persuaded me, along with many carers’ organisations, of the need for such a change.

Institutionally, the NHS is not good at grasping the different responsibilities it has towards carers compared with those who are its immediate concern—the patients. As a result, it lets carers down institutionally, and that is what the new clause says we need to address. We need to change the NHS’s mindset institutionally to make sure that it recognises its responsibility for millions of people with caring responsibilities and asks the necessary questions. Macmillan Cancer Support has found that 78% of health care professionals have come across a cancer patient who has been admitted because their carer could not cope at home. Here is why the NHS must fully engage with carers: only one in three professionals who sees an accompanied patient always goes on to check whether the person with them is their carer.

[Sarah Newton (Truro and Falmouth) (Con)]

I, too, have supported my right hon. Friend’s new clause, because this is an essential point. This Government should be proud of the support that they have introduced for the legion of unpaid carers who do such a fantastic job, but if their doctors, district nurses and health care professionals do not let them know about these rights, they are not really worth having.

[Paul Burstow]

That is absolutely right. This is not, as it can sometimes be portrayed, a case of “Let’s just have a tick-box”; it is about signalling a set of changes that need to happen in the culture of the organisation, so that when a patient visiting their GP or a consultant is accompanied by a member of their family or someone else who is supporting them, that instinctively forms part of the conversation about signposting and information about carers.

At the moment, just 7% of practitioners always signpost for a carers assessment. That is why we need to make sure, through this new clause, that we place a simple duty on the NHS so that it plays its part in identifying carers. One of the most shocking statistics is that 64% of health professionals think that that is necessary. They think that it will help them in their day-to-day practice and in ensuring that the issue is put up the agenda.