These frequently asked questions have been produced from the questions received at the launch of the Carers Identity Passport and through our contact with Carers and practitioners working in healthcare settings.
The Carers Identity Passport has been co-produced with Carers and staff across the Integrated Health and Care System to ensure unpaid Carers are identified and recognised in hospital settings. The Carers Identity Passport is for all age Carers, including Young Carers and Parent Carers, in Norfolk and Waveney. It is available in both digital and physical forms. The digital version is an image you can save on your phone and the physical Carers Identity Passport takes the form of a card and lanyard that can be worn.
A Carers Passport is currently being developed in Suffolk. We are working with practitioners in Suffolk to ensure both passports will be recognised by staff.
The new Carers Identity Passport will help to ensure Carers are recognised and linked in with existing support available in hospitals. For more information about this, please visit improvinglivesnw.org.uk/carers.
If you have requested a digital Carers Identity Passport, you should receive this within seven working days of completing the registration form. If you have requested a Carers Identity Passport card, you will receive this within ten working days. However, if you are in need of the Carers Identity Passport urgently, please email us and we will help as much as possible.
At the workshop we held in February, unpaid Carers told us their priority was ensuring they are identified and recognised across healthcare settings, so this is where we started. We will continue to work to ensure the Carers Identity Passport is recognised widely across Norfolk, Waveney and border areas.
We have tried to keep the form as simple as possible. We ask for your basic details including: email address, name, address, and locality. You will also be asked to confirm your caring status from the following list: Carer over 18 caring for an adult, Carer over 18 caring for a child (under 18), Carer under 18 caring for an adult, and Carer under 18 caring for a child (under 18).
The Carers Emergency card is issued by Norfolk County Council. More information can be found at: norfolk.gov.uk/care-support-and-health/get-help-with-looking-after-someone/prepare-for-emergencies/emergency-carers-card
The key fob you get with the Carers Emergency Card can be attached to your Carers Identity Passport lanyard if you choose.
We launched the Carers Identity Passport on Carers Rights Day, 24th November 2022. You can view videos from the launch below, that explain why the Carers Identity Passport has been developed and how to apply for one.
1. Carers Identity Passport launch introduction
4. Carers Ambassador, Coproduction of the Carers Identity Passport
2. How to apply for a Carers Identity Passport
5. Carers Ambassador, Developments for the future
3. Carers Ambassador, Beginnings of the Project
Emma Harrison, Patient Experience and Public Involvement Lead at The Queen Elizabeth Hospital King’s Lynn NHS Foundation Trust, shares information about the development of the Carers Identity Passport and how it will help ensure Carers are identified and recognised in healthcare settings.