Carers (health and wellbeing needs in South Tyneside)

• The table below shows figures from the 2011 Census, demonstrating the number of people providing levels of unpaid care per week in South Tyneside.^[xv]

Table 1 - Number of people providing unpaid care (2011 Census)

• The population in South Tyneside was approximately 148,100 people at the time of the 2011 census; by 2019 the total population increased to around 150,300 and increase of 2.2%.  
• In 2011, around 7,400 carers provided more than 20 hours of care per week.  Aligned to the population growth rate, that figure has now risen by approx.150 people which equates to approximately 5% of the South Tyneside population being at risk of health issues due to their caring roles. 
• In South Tyneside (2015 Carers Survey):
  • The majority of carers, 449 (73%) are female
  • The most common age group is still 55 to 64 - 176 (29%)
  • The vast majority of carers are white - 574 (97%)
• From January 2018, the Council embarked on a new way of working in Social Care, which is based on the strengths of the individual and focuses on the outcomes they want to achieve. This is called Let's Talk Together.
• Changes were brought into the way this information is recorded, moving away from traditional assessment methods and fitting people into services, using the '3 Conversations Model.'  At stages 1 and 2 of the model this is recorded as a conversation record. It is only when stage 3 is required that this is recorded as an 'assessment' (where the level of support required is not available through community resources and more formal services are required). The new model allows for a more enriched conversation with the individual to focus on early intervention, prevention and independence.
• Previously all cases and joint assessments were recorded in a Self-Assessment Questionnaire (SAQ) document, these accounts for the higher figures in 2016 and 2017. The SAQ assessment is now only used where formal provision is required; this is at stage 3 of the '3 conversation model' as mentioned above.
• The same approach is applied to Carers - where a carer is identified, a strengths-based conversation takes place to connect the carer with community resources. Where it is identified that the carer has Care Act eligible needs and these needs cannot be met by support to the cared for person, this is then recorded as a carer's assessment and a personal budget to meet those needs is agreed.
• We would therefore expect to see a drop in the number of formal assessments being recorded as we embed the new way of working.
• Using some of the key findings above as a gage to correlate against local assessment data. Appendices Fig 1 reinforces the current status of carers receiving services from Adult Social Care within South Tyneside.
• Between 2015 and 2018 more than two thirds of Single Carer assessments were on females (See Appendices Fig 2)
• The age group statistics in relation to Carer Assessments (2015-18) show that 55-64 still remains the most common age group. (See Appendices Fig 3)
• When comparing this data the following information should be taken into consideration which explains the significant drop in figures: From January 2018, the Council embarked on a new way of working in Social Care, which is based on the strengths of the individual and focuses on the outcomes they want to achieve. This is called Let's Talk Together.
• Changes were brought into the way this information is recorded, moving away from traditional assessment methods and fitting people into services, using the '3 Conversations Model.'  At stages 1 and 2 of the model this is recorded as a conversation record. It is only when stage 3 is required that this is recorded as an 'assessment' (where the level of support required is not available through community resources and more formal services are required). The new model allows for a more enriched conversation with the individual to focus on early intervention, prevention and independence.
• Previously all cases and joint assessments were recorded in a Self-Assessment Questionnaire (SAQ) document, these accounts for the higher figures in 2016 and 2017. The SAQ assessment is now only used where formal provision is required; this is at stage 3 of the '3 conversation model' as mentioned above.
• The same approach is applied to Carers - where a carer is identified, a strengths-based conversation takes place to connect the carer with community resources. Where it is identified that the carer has Care Act eligible needs and these needs cannot be met by support to the cared for person, this is then recorded as a carer's assessment and a personal budget to meet those needs is agreed.
• We would therefore expect to see a drop in the number of formal assessments being recorded as we embed the new way of working.
• Appendices Fig 4 displays the number of referrals, January 2017 - September 2019, from South Tyneside Adult Carers Service (STACS). STACS became an independent entity in 2017 and completed a transfer of 141 Carers onto their new system, which is reflective within the figures for 2017 / 18.
• Further analysis of the referral data shows;
  • 97% of the referrals are White British;
  • 63% of the referrals are either married, in a civil partnership or in a relationship;
  • 11% of the referrals are either single, windowed or separated;
  • 55% of the referrals reported having no disability;
  • Approx. 20% of the referrals reported having Mental Health issues, depression or anxiety;
  • Approx. 20% of the referrals reported having mobility or arthritis;
  • 79% of the referrals reported having no social worker support, with 18% reporting they have and the remaining percentage not notified;
  • 83% of the referrals reported caring between 19-50+ hours per week, with the remaining 17% caring 1-19 or unanswered

Table 2: SCTACS Referrals by Employment Status

• North East Commissioning Support (NECS) provides further analysis in relation to demographics by Carers per area based on GP (General Practitioner) location. Data Warning - It should be noted that due to the nature of the data collection, these figures may not be 100% accurate. Due to information governance requirements numbers less than 6 have been suppressed in the report.
• Data extracted from the GP carers register correlates with the assessment data in which the predominant age of carers within South Tyneside being aged in their 50s and 60s (Appendices Fig 5), however those in aged under 60 are significantly less likely to be a carer per head of population (Appendices Fig 6).
• Further analysis also provides insight into proportion of GP registered patients who are cares in each practice and Primary Care Network (PCN).  (Appendices Fig 7 and 8)
• The Adult Social Care Survey showed that in 2019/20 just 27.1% of carers that responded had as much social contact as they would like, while this is lower than England's 32.5% it is statistically similar (See Appendices Fig 9)

Young Carers

• There is estimated to be 700,000 young carers in the UK today. This accounts for roughly 1% of the UK's population. This percentage transposed into South Tyneside population of 150,000 interprets to approximately 1500 young carers living locally.
• It is clear that low numbers of carers in the 18-25 age groups are engaging in support and this is evident in the number registered with Humankind and the number in Social Care who have had a carer's assessment.
• In South Tyneside, there is a service dedicated to providing support for young carers in the borough. The Service has been operating since 1 April 2019 however information has been submitted to provide a snapshot of the current status;
• The assessments completed by Humankind from April to September 2019 show a more equal split in relation to gender, to that of the adult carers. 53 assessments completed in total (30 female, 23 male). A large proportion of young carers are white British with 98% of the total and only 2% being of people from minority ethnic backgrounds.
• 100% of the young carers assessed were referred to South Tyneside TEN (a non-commissioned carers service in South Tyneside) for additional activities.
• It has been identified, and reflected within the high level priorities, that more needs to be done to engage with carers aged 15 to 25 years. Engagement levels are very low as young carers' transition into adulthood and this is part of the reason why the new young carers' service has been commissioned up to the age 25 years old. 

• Further analysis shows:
  • The assessments completed show a 70 / 30 percentage split between young carer location, with South Shields being the predominant area and the least amount coming from a combination of Jarrow, Boldon and Hebburn.
  • There appears to be a clear split between referrals sources, with social workers, TEN, schools and parents being most likely and Children's Services, Early Help Services, Key Project and CYPS being least likely.

Mental Health Concern

• Mental Health Concern currently provides support to approximately 100 carers. The carers are provided with 1:1 support and have access to variety of groups and services including a Women's Group, Men's Group, Peer Support and an Out of Hours service. There are currently 51 carers deemed active with the service.
• Out of the 51 active carers, approximately 63% are female and 37% male.
• In comparison with the assessment data, the age range distribution was consistent throughout South Tyneside.

Carers Allowance

• Figures collected in November 2016 showed 2530 South Tyneside residents had claimed Carers Allowance, compared to figures in 2018 which highlighted an increase to 3270 (29%).
• On average, South Tyneside is above the national / regional average with 2.7% claiming Carer Allowance, in comparison with national figures of 1.7% and regionally 2.5%.