About Lanarkshire Carers

Accessing support early is key to making sure carers can manage their caring role.

Lanarkshire Carers provide information, advice and a range of direct support services which can help you maintain or improve your quality of life and help you to continue to care. We are commissioned by University Health and Social Care North Lanarkshire and South Lanarkshire University Health and Social Care Partnership to provide Adult Carer Support Services to carers living in Lanarkshire.

Our website provides an overview of the services we offer and how these can support you throughout your caring journey. Our services are open to all carers aged 18 years and older living in Lanarkshire.

Working throughout Lanarkshire we deliver practical and emotional support to individuals and groups, we build relationships with carers, help them to identify and address their support needs and make sure they know their rights. We offer support through Lanarkshire Carers Centre: Hamilton, Lanarkshire Carers Centre: Airdrie, outreach and localities. We provide a tailored Equality and Diversity Carer Support Service, and support Young Adult Carers aged 18–25 years old and other groups of carers who are under-represented. We work in partnership with a range of organisations and services that also help carers.

Our Vision

Lanarkshire Carers works with and for carers in Lanarkshire to develop and deliver services that make a positive difference to their lives

Our Mission

To ensure that carers in Lanarkshire are identified, engaged, well informed, involved, supported, and empowered

Our Values

Our values guide our behaviour and expectations and how we will aim to conduct our business no matter what we are doing. They will guide, inspire and constrain our actions.

Our Aims

• Carers in Lanarkshire are identified to ensure that they are engaged, well informed, involved, supported and empowered to manage and sustain their caring roles
• Carers can access breaks from their caring role and enjoy a life outside caring
• Preventative, practical and emotional support is available to carers at an early stage and ongoing throughout their caring journey
• Carers have a voice which is heard, listened to and effective
• Carers receive training and development relevant to their caring role
• Communities and partner organisations are aware of carers and the issues that impact on them
• Carers are aware of their rights and are recognised and valued as equal partners in care

Our History

We were founded in 1995 as Princess Royal Trust Lanarkshire Carers Centre Ltd, with the aim of providing support services for carers across Lanarkshire. We operate as a separate legal entity, an independent organisation, and an affiliated partner of the Carers Trust Network.

In January 2015, we adopted the operating name of Lanarkshire Carers Centre. The move of the registered office in Hamilton and organisational developments required a brand and information review to reflect changes locally to the organisation and nationally to the Network to which we are affiliated.

Carers Trust was formed from the merger of The Princess Royal Trust for Carers and Crossroads Care in 2012. The charity has sought to establish itself and its brand with Network Partners and externally to ensure that carers get the recognition, support and services they need to live a life outside of caring. The collective size, range and reach of Carers Trust across the UK with carers means the foundations are in place for working peer to peer, sharing, growing, building and developing for the benefit of carers. The Carers Trust is a charity for, with and about carers, working with a unique network of 116 independent Carers Centres to make sure that information, advice and practical support are available to carers across the UK. As an affiliated network partner, Lanarkshire Carers contributes to the development of its aims and objectives.

In 2015 Carers Trust began a consultation exercise as part of the strategic planning process for the future. This will result in an overarching strategy for carers with a shared set of outcomes for the next five years. As an affiliated network partner, Lanarkshire Carers is involved in this process and is also represented on the Scotland Working group through the Managers and Trustee network representatives.

HRH the Princess Royal continues to be a patron of Carers Trust which is an important part of the history of the organisation in Lanarkshire.