New to caring? Basic support

Torbay Carers Service develops, co-ordinates and organises the services for unpaid carers who care for someone living in Torbay. It doesn’t matter what relation you are to the person you care for or whether you live in the same house, there is a wide range of services for carers.

Details can be found in our Carers Services Summary. You can also find which Carer Support Worker works at your GP Practice.

The first step is to join Torbay Carers Register to access basic advice information and support. Contact Signposts for Carers for a register pack.

The Register can also provide an emergency card with back-up plan for the person you care for which doubles as a discount card and Carers Passport. This can link you to support in Hospitals, GPs, pharmacies and employment eg it enables you to have free hospital parking when visiting or supporting the person you care for. If you care for an adult who may get confused or unable to communicate when they are about, they can provide a Safely Home bracelet, but it is worth talking this through with Signposts or the Carer Support Worker at your GP practice, so see if it will be suitable. .

The next step is to talk to someone. If you ring Signposts, they can advise you who is best to talk to, depending on your situation.

There are many national organisations who provide information and advice for carers, such as Carers UK and Carers Trust. Carers UK digital offer for carers gives every Torbay carer access to their digital resources for free. All you need is an email address, go to www.carersdigital.org, choose ‘create new account’ at the bottom right and use code DGTL8622. This code also gives free access to their Jointly App which can help you organise your caring role especially where other family members or agencies are involved. If you aren’t confident with IT, just contact Signposts on 01803 666620 who can link you in to someone who can support you with this.