Section 5. Having a say in how services are provided to the person you care for

This chapter presents findings about whether carers were more or less likely to agree that they had “a say in how services were provided to the person(s)” they look after, according to what support they themselves received. It looks at all carers who responded to the HACE survey, whose support status we could categorise.

The Carer’s Act (2016) established a legal right for carers to be involved in assessing the needs of the person they care for and in decisions about discharging them from hospital.

Ensuring carers’ voices are heard and their views and experiences are taken into account in decisions which affect them more generally, was also highlighted as a named strategic outcome by the National Carers’ Strategy (2022). 

Overall, 44% of all carers reported that they felt they had a say in how services were provided to the person(s) they looked after. 21% indicated they felt they did not have a say, and 35% neither agreed nor disagreed with the statement.

Carers who told us they had received some form of support were most likely to report that they felt they had a say in how services were provided to the person(s) they looked after (56%). This compared to 38% of carers who did not receive or need support for their caring role, and 25% of those who reported not having received any support despite feeling they needed some.

Carers who had received formal support were more likely to agree that they had a say in how services were provided to the person(s) the look after 69%. This is compared to 44% of those who had received only informal support, 38% of those who told us they did not need support, and 25% of those who told us they had not received support despite feeling that they needed it.

Of carers who received formal support:

• 74% of those who had received breaks-related formal support, and
• 66% of those who had received non-breaks-related formal support agreed or strongly agreed with the statement.