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Listen
Annex B: Topic guide used for carers with mental health problems and learning difficulties
Focus upon:
- What in your experience works well
- What in your experience does not work well
- What in your view needs to be improved and how
- Identifying areas where you perceive that there are gaps
- Looking to the future - how you see life as a carer over next 10 years
- What areas you feel need to be improved upon
Type of care experience
relationship to you
condition of person cared for (if appropriate)
how long etc
Co-ordination of care services
description of journey between primary and secondary care services experiences of support services at different stages, e.g. diagnosis, treatment, after treatment, where things work smoothly - reasons why where they do not - reasons why
Provision of information
written/verbal information available on becoming a carer, and during,
adequacy of information,
appropriateness,
clear/understandable,
literacy and language issues,
assistance in understanding
Effectiveness of policies to support carers
e.g. respite care, availability of care breaks
Employer based support for carers (where applicable)
e.g. flexible working policies, availability of care breaks, impact of flexible working on earnings, progression, career trajectory, pay differential between male and female carers and contribution to the pay gap, career prospects for young carers, representation in employment sectors, influences on full and part time working
Education (where applicable)
experience of being a young carer, impact on education and employment prospects, impact of caring on opportunity to participate in learning/life-long learning/returning to the labour market after caring responsibilities end
Spiritual support/Social support/Psychological support
e.g. whether spiritual/social/psychological needs of carers are recognised as well as considered by service providers
Specific issues in relation to MH carers
How has your condition affected care services?
What support is available for you?
How effective do you feel this has been?
What can be done to improve?
Future as carer over next 10 years
How you see the future for yourself as a carer over the next 10 years What you would like to see in place to support you Given experiences above - how this impacts on their future/how they perceive their medium term and long-term future as carers What needs to be considered/changed over the next 10 years in terms of support services for carers
Conclusions
What carers enjoy about caring (end on positive note)
Opportunity to raise issues in relation to the study and their experiences, not covered above,
or points that they would like to reiterate
Thank you, collect travel receipts, hand over project info etc
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