Working with Sandwell’s Health Services to Make Sure Carers Are Recognised and Supported

Smethwick Medical Centre receiving their Carer Champion Certificate

Sandwell Carers Service is working with GP practices and health professionals across Sandwell to help unpaid Carers be identified earlier, listened to and connected with the right support.

If you are an unpaid Carer, contact with health services can be a regular part of life. You may attend appointments with the person you care for, speak to health professionals on their behalf, or be trying to look after your own health alongside your caring responsibilities.

That is why Sandwell Carers Service is working directly with local health professionals and taking Carer support into healthcare settings across the borough.

As part of this work, we have been delivering Carer Champion Health Training to help GP practices recognise and support unpaid Carers.

Four Sandwell GP practices now have trained Carer Champions

re pleased to announce that staff from four local GP practices have completed our Carer Champion Health Training:

• Cape Hill Medical Centre
• Smethwick Medical Centre
• Great Barr Medical Centre
• Black Country Family Practice

This is another important step towards creating more Carer Friendly health services across Sandwell.

A trained Carer Champion helps their practice recognise people who may be providing unpaid care but do not necessarily see themselves as a Carer. They can also help colleagues understand the impact caring can have on a person’s own health and wellbeing and ensure Carers know about the support available to them.

Our Health Liaison team has already been working alongside Cape Hill Medical Centre, including supporting its inaugural Carers Drop-in and meeting Carers from the local community.

We’re training more health professionals to recognise Carers

Our work does not stop with these four practices.

Forward Carers, as lead provider of Sandwell Carers Service, offers free Carer Champion Health Training to GP practice staff and other health professionals.

The training is suitable for practice managers, reception teams, care coordinators, social prescribers and other healthcare colleagues. It is also a useful refresher for existing Carer Leads.

Across Birmingham, Sandwell and Walsall, 106 NHS staff have already attended five Carer Champion Health Training sessions during 2026.

The practical training helps staff to:

• understand who an unpaid Carer is and why many people may not identify themselves as one;
• recognise hidden Carers;
• understand how caring responsibilities can affect physical and emotional wellbeing;
• feel confident starting conversations about caring;
• understand what support is available for Carers locally; and
• explore how their organisation can become more Carer Friendly.

Our aim is to make recognising and supporting Carers part of everyday healthcare practice, helping people access support earlier rather than waiting until their caring role becomes overwhelming or reaches crisis point.

How GP practices can work with us

If you work within a GP practice or health service in Sandwell, there are two simple ways you can help.

Refer unpaid Carers to Sandwell Carers Service
Carers can access free information, advice, wellbeing support and opportunities to connect with other Carers.
Refer a Carer to Sandwell Carers Service

Become a Carer Champion
Our free Carer Champion Health Training equips staff with practical knowledge and tools to recognise hidden Carers and connect them with appropriate local support.
Having trained Carer Champions can help embed Carer awareness across a practice and supports wider expectations around identifying, recognising and supporting unpaid Carers.

Next Carer Champion Health Training

Wednesday 14 October 2026
9.30am–12.30pm
Online via Microsoft Teams
3 hours CPD

Booking is required: Book Carer Champion Health Training

Why should you tell your GP that you’re a Carer?

While we are working with GP practices to improve the identification of unpaid Carers, we also encourage Carers to tell their GP practice about their caring role.

Your GP may not automatically know that you provide unpaid care for someone.

Ask your practice to record that you are a Carer on your patient record. This can help healthcare professionals better understand the circumstances surrounding your own health and wellbeing and open up conversations about the support you may need.

You can simply say:

“I provide unpaid care for someone. Could you please make sure that I am recorded as a Carer on my patient record?”

You do not have to wait for your GP practice to ask.

Creating more Carer Friendly health services

We want Carers across Sandwell to be recognised, valued and supported wherever they come into contact with health services.

By working alongside GP practices and other health professionals, we can identify more hidden Carers, connect people with support earlier and help healthcare staff understand the difference that recognising a caring role can make.

Supporting the health and wellbeing of Carers is also an important part of supporting the people they care for.