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Adult social care and support

What help can I get as a carer?

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An unpaid carer is anyone who provides care to someone without getting paid. If you're looking after a family member or friend, you might not think of yourself as a carer. Even if you don't, you can still get help. This page lets you know where to start.

Find out about getting support for you

There's a range of support in Surrey that can help you.

Information and advice

Action for Carers Surrey help unpaid carers of all ages. They give advice, information, and support about caring.

They can help with things like:

  • money and benefits
  • your rights and the law
  • support at work
  • your physical and mental health
  • travel and getting around

They have a helpline and a team of trained advisers who can support you.

They have a helpline and a team of trained advisers who can support you.

They offer information booklets which you can download from their website. They also specialist advice and services for carers of:

In person support

Action for Carers Surrey can give you direct support. You can talk to an adviser or get help from one of their special teams.

These teams include:

  • adult social care staff who support you if the person you care for is in hospital
  • a team that helps carers looking after someone with mental health problems
  • Moving and Handling team. This team teaches you how to safely help the person you care for move around

They also run many free events for carers. These take place online and in different places across Surrey. The events include information sessions, learning events, and wellbeing activities.

Find your nearest Carer Hub.

Connect to Support Surrey also lists:

You can refine these listings by:

  • searching by postcode or town
  • filtering by different needs, for example dementia or learning disability

If you need some help to use our directory, see How Connect to Support Surrey works.

Get phone support

Action for Carers run a helpline.

Opening hours:

  • Monday to Thursday:  9am to 7.30pm
  • Friday: 9am to 5pm
  • Saturday: 9am to 12.30pm

Online support

You can also get support online from:

Mobilise – free online support, advice and a digital community

The Jointly app is free for Surrey carers. Use access code: DGTL3562.

Download the app from the App Store or Google Play.

Tell people you are a carer

Telling people you have caring responsibilities means that you could get financial and practical support.

Register with your GP

Let your GP know that you look after someone else. It will help them to understand how they can support you in your role. It can also mean that you can:

  • get flexible appointments
  • annual health checks and flu jabs

Each practice will have different ways of registering and offer different services. Speak to them to find out how to register.

Register with Action for Carers Surrey

Action for Carers Surrey support all carers who care for someone who lives in Surrey. You don't have to live in Surrey yourself to get their help. Registering with Action for Carers Surrey means you can get:

  • information about your rights
  • moving and handling training
  • invitations to events

Register with Action for Carers

Your employer

You don’t have to tell your boss, but if you work your employer must offer you certain legal rights. These include:

  • a right to ask for flexible working
  • time off in emergencies

Action for Carers has more information on working and caring.

Make a Lasting Power of Attorney

A Lasting Power of Attorney (LPA) lets someone choose a trusted person to make decisions on their behalf if they are no longer able to do so themselves.

If the person you care for does not already have an LPA, it may be worth discussing this as part of your future planning. Having the right legal arrangements in place can make it easier to manage matters such as:

  • finances
  • property
  • health
  • care decisions

if circumstances change.

Find out more about or make a Lasting Power of Attorney.

Make emergency plans for if you can’t be there

Life can be unpredictable and emergencies can happen with little warning. Having an emergency plan means you can make sure the person you care for is never left without the help they need. This section will help you create a plan, either by yourself or with support.

What to include in an emergency plan

Gather all the key information someone would need if you suddenly couldn’t provide care. This could include:

  • is there anyone who can step in if needed (names and contact details)
  • information about the person your care for (medication, preferences, risks)
  • what support they need (key tasks or routines)
  • how to get into your home or any essential equipment (keys, codes, instructions)

How to create your own emergency plan

The Jointly app helps you make a backup plan by keeping all important care information in one place. You can store notes, medicine details and contact numbers which you can share by text message.

Jointly is free for Surrey carers. Use access code: DGTL3562.

Download the app from the App Store or Google Play.

Other ideas include:

You can also consider having a carer's assessment. This includes emergency planning and looks at what you should do if:

  • you don't have an emergency contact
  • you want help creating a backup plan

In Case of Emergency Card

We have created an ID card which identifies you as a carer. These are free and include your emergency contacts.

Action for Carers Surrey have copies of these cards. You can contact Action for Carers Surrey to ask them to send you one or pick one up at an Action for Carers event.

There are also national cards:

Get help making an emergency plan

If you want some help planning, you can:

You can also consider having a carer's assessment. This includes backup planning and looks at what you should do if:

  • you don't have an emergency contact
  • you want help creating a backup plan

What to do if you have an emergency now

If you do not have anyone listed as an emergency contact speak to our Adult Social Care Information and Advice team.

If the person you care for already gets support from us, we will either:

  • use or adapt the support they already have
  • give extra help through the Emergency Duty Team

If neither of you get support from us, you can still get help. We will do a quick check to see what help the person you care for needs. If needed, we can arrange emergency care. We'll do a full assessment later to decide what longer-term support you need.

Find out how to take a break

We know that finding time for yourself can be difficult. There is support available.

Short-term breaks

Taking a break and time for yourself is vital. The carer wellbeing break payment could help you do this.

It is a one-off £300 payment which you can use to take a well-deserved break from your caring role.

See Carer wellbeing break payment.

You can also use Connect to Support Surrey for ideas on:

You can refine these listings by:

  • searching by postcode or town
  • filtering by different needs, for example dementia or learning disability

If you need some help to use our directory, see How Connect to Support Surrey works.

Longer-term breaks

If you need ongoing support to take a break, think about completing a carer’s assessment. You can refer yourself or ask someone to do it for you.

Find out more about the carer's assessment.

Get benefit advice

Citizens Advice can help you with benefit applications and tell you about carer's benefits. Find your local Citizens Advice.

Surrey Welfare Rights Unit can offer you free advice on how to increase your income. This includes:

  • welfare benefits
  • debt
  • energy advice
  • other ways to increase your income
  • social care funding advice

You can contact them by:

Find out more about the benefits you can claim as a carer from:

Information and support for unpaid carers

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