Bracknell

More than 8,000 carers in Bracknell Forest have been praised for the work they do looking after elderly, frail, disabled or mentally ill people who live in the borough.

A working group of Bracknell councillors has produced an Overview and Scrutiny report called Caring About Carers, which recognises the long hours put in by volunteers such as relatives and friends to ensure their loved ones can stay in their own homes for as long as possible.

The group has also looked at the information carers receive about help available and the kind of support they can expect from Bracknell Council and other bodies such as the NHS and voluntary organisations.

Councillors on the Social Care and Learning Overview and Scrutiny Panel - which examines important local issues on behalf of the borough’s residents – have recommended more short-term respite care and more information coming through local doctors’ surgeries - often the first port of call for carers. They believe these recommendations are key to making carers’ lives a little easier.

Councillor Anne Shillcock, who led the Bracknell working group, said: "The group's members look forward to early implementation of their recommendations.

"This review has revealed three main issues. Carers' primary concern is that they are helped to meet the needs of the people they care for, which includes access to respite care.

"Both the Council and the voluntary sector give a wide range of good support to carers.

"And more needs to be done to get information to all the 8,200 carers in Bracknell Forest on the help available and how to access it."

Councillor Dale Birch, Executive Member for Bracknell Adult Services, Health and Housing, said: "The report shows that the Council supports its carers well and it gives proper recognition to the vitally important work done by many thousands of people who provide much needed care for their relatives and friends.

"Their value to the community is considerable and I want to thank all of them for their tremendous contribution. We will put in place the recommendations from the report as part of our continued commitment to improving services for all our vulnerable residents and their carers."

And the Mayor of the Borough of Bracknell Forest, Cllr Bob Edger, who chairs the Overview and Scrutiny Commission, said: "We are carrying out a number of other reviews across the a wide range of important topics, with similarly positive outcomes showing that Overview and Scrutiny, acting on behalf of residents, makes a valuable contribution to the running of the Council."

Bracknell Forest Council