How to use the Carers Hub to audit services in your area
The Carers' Hub can be used as a tool to audit local carer need and service provision. In order to assess what mixture of interventions might be necessary to achieve the outcomes of the National Carers’ Strategy in your area, the first step would be to carry out an assessment to establish:
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what services are currently available
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which of the National Carers’ Strategy outcomes are being met
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which groups are being served
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what local carers and their families want.
The Carers’ Hub three-pronged approach to local strategic planning (carer-led, identify and include and whole-area) can then be applied in order to inform the development and implementation of the most appropriate mix of interventions.
A comprehensive guide for assessing adult services in respect of the Carers’ Hub has been produced to act as a tool to assist in the auditing process.
Further information on how to assess services in terms of the Carers’ Hub can also be found in Commissioning for Carers: an Action Guide for Decision-Makers.
Several local authorities have begun using the Hub model as a basis for assessing local services for carers:
- The Carers' Hub has been used by the City of York Council to inform their local Strategy for Carers.
- The London Borough of Merton has compiled an extensive report mapping services against the Carers’ Hub.
- Halton Borough Council and Halton and St Helen’s NHS have used the Hub as a basis for assessing need as part of their Joint Commissioning Strategy for Carers.
