Your Service, Shaped by You
At Sandwell Carers Service, we believe the best services are designed with Carers, not just for Carers. Every improvement we make is guided by the experiences, ideas and feedback of unpaid Carers across Sandwell.
Carers Helped Design the Service
Before the service began, Sandwell Metropolitan Borough Council spoke with local unpaid Carers to understand what they wanted from a new Carers service. Their views directly shaped the service specification, ensuring it reflected the needs of people with lived experience.
The same group of Carers also played an important role in selecting Forward Carers to deliver the new Sandwell Carers Service.
Listening from Day One
In August 2025, ahead of the service launch, Forward Carers invited local Carers to an engagement session to introduce the new service.
Carers were given a preview of the new website, information about the support that would be available, and opportunities to tell us what mattered most to them.
We asked Carers:
- What do you think of the new service?
- Are there any gaps in support?
- Do our planned community drop-ins across all six towns, plus Great Barr, meet your needs?
- Which community venues, festivals and events should we attend to reach more Carers?
Every comment and suggestion was carefully reviewed and analysed.
You Said, We Did
In February 2026, we shared with Carers how their feedback had influenced the service and invited further ideas. As a result, we have already made a number of improvements, including:
- Creating five new pages on the Sandwell Carers Service website.
- Adding links to Healthy Sandwell, making it easier to find local outdoor health and wellbeing activities.
- Including online support groups within our What’s On calendar, giving Carers more flexible ways to access support.
- Expanding our community outreach by supporting Dementia Action Week and Carers Week, with stalls at the Sandwell and Birmingham Mela and plans to attend OneFest.
Details of the changes we have made as a result of your feedback are given in our You Said, We Did newsletter with a summary also available.
Take a look at the snapshot of these improvements or read our You Said, We Did newsletter for the details of the changes made because of your feedback.
What We Learned During Carers Week
During our Carers Week event at Sandwell Valley Country Park, we spoke to members of the public about their experiences of Sandwell Carers Service.
We asked whether they had accessed our support:
- In person
- Through our website
- By email
- By telephone
While many Carers had already used the service, we also met people who had never accessed support before. This highlights that there are still many unpaid Carers who are unaware that free information, advice and support is available.
Raising awareness remains one of our key priorities, so that every Carer knows where to turn when they need help.
Are You Prepared for an Emergency?
We also asked Carers whether they had a Peace of Mind (POM) Plan or What If Plan in place for emergencies.
Although some Carers had already prepared a plan, most had not.
This tells us there is still more work to do to raise awareness of these important planning tools. Having a plan in place can provide reassurance that the person you care for will continue to receive support if you are suddenly unable to provide care due to illness, an accident or another emergency.
Help Shape the Future of Your Service
Your experiences and ideas continue to shape Sandwell Carers Service.
Through our Carers Voice programme, you can influence future developments, help improve services and share your experiences with us. Whether you would like to complete surveys, join focus groups, attend engagement events or simply tell us about your caring journey, every voice matters.
Visit our dedicated Carers Voice webpage to find out more, register your interest and choose how you would like to get involved. Read how Angela has used her experience of being a Carer to influence local services, regional partnerships and even national research.
Together, we can continue to build a service that reflects the real needs of unpaid Carers across Sandwell.
