Worcestershire Carers Support Programme – page for referrers

On 1 April 2025, Family Fund will launch a new support programme, in the Worcestershire area, for carers of disabled or seriously ill adult relatives.

We’re calling on health and social care professionals to make referrals into this programme. Funding is very limited, so it will only be open for one month. If you know of a carer who could benefit from this project, make a referral now.

Who does it support?

The Worcestershire Carers Support programme provides a cash grant of £420 to adults on a low income who are providing full time care for an adult with a life-limiting disability or serious illness, in their household.

Carers can use these grants for items or services that make their life easier, or that allow them to take a break or engage in activities to support their own health and well-being.

To be eligible for the programme:

• The carer must be aged 25+ and providing full-time care (35 hours or more) for a disabled or seriously ill adult relative (eg a spouse or family member aged 25+) living in the same household.
• The carer and their relative must live in one of the Worcestershire postcode areas covered by the programme (this can be checked using the postcode checker on this page).
• This programme is aimed at carers on a low income, so they must be in receipt of at least one of the following:
  • Carers Allowance
  • Universal Credit
  • Pension Credit (Guarantee or Savings Credit).
• The person who is being cared for must meet all of the following criteria:
  • They must have a life-limiting, permanent physical disability, learning disability or serious illness
  • They must require a high level personal support with day-to-day activities such as eating, washing, dressing, moving or toileting
  • They must be receiving a significant level of medical support or therapeutic treatment.

Who can make a referral

The Worcestershire Carers Support programme is a referral only programme- so carers cannot apply directly for themselves. We can accept referrals from the following health and social care professionals:

• Doctors registered with the General Medical Council
• Nurses registered with the Nursing and Midwifery Council
• Social work professionals registered with Social Work England
• Occupational therapists and physiotherapists registered with the Health & Care Professions Council.

How to make a referral

Health and social care professionals face many demands, so we’ve designed the referral process to be as quick and simple as possible, focusing on those most in need of grants. To make a referral:

• Identify the carer you wish to refer
• Tell the carer about the programme – our carer leaflet explains about the programme and can be printed off and given to the carer
• Check the carer and the person they care for meet the eligibility criteria for the programme – using the checklist in the resources section below
• Check the carer and the person they care for live together, in one of the eligible postcode areas, by using the postcode checker on this page
• Confirm that the carer and the person they care for are both happy for you to use their details and make a referral
• Complete the online referral form.  You will need the names, dates of birth and address of the carer and the person they care for to do this.

Family Fund will then check the referral and if everything is complete, will issue an application form to the carer by email. This will ask them to confirm their personal details and provide us with details of how they will use their grant. Once we have these details, we’ll make arrangements for the carer to receive the grant as a BACS payment into their bank account.

Please note, that in making a referral you are agreeing to the WCS Programme Referrer GDPR Agreement.

What can the grant be used for

The grant is for the carer to use in one of the following ways:

• To pay for items like bedding, furniture or household appliances that make caring easier
• To pay for someone to take over caring for a short time, so they can have a break
• To pay for help with housework or gardening
• To pay for personal gym membership, exercise classes or hobbies to support their own health and well-being
• To pay for a day out or short break away, so they can rest and recharge
• To pay for taxi fares or travel expenses to medical appointments.

For more information on what the grant can be used for, please check the carer leaflet.

The grant cannot be spent on medical treatment or medicines, personal items for the carer that do not relate to caring (clothing, jewellery etc), food, household bills or existing debts or gambling and lotteries.

Ready to make a referral?

Referrals will be accepted from 12pm on 1 April 2025 to midnight on 12am on 4 May 2025.    

Please note that we may need to close the programme earlier if all funds are allocated, or extend the programme for longer, as necessary.

Do you know any other referrers?

If you’re not in contact with eligible carers yourself, but you know of other health and social care colleagues who may want to make a referral, please send them a link to this page so they can find out about the programme.   

Important note- this page is for REFERRERS ONLY.  Please do not give the link to carers as we can ONLY accept referrals from registered health and social care professionals. 

If you’re having an event for health and social care professionals in the Worcestershire area, and would like a member of our team to come along, to talk about the programme, please contact us on: [email protected]

Resources

Referrers Leaflet (pdf)

GDPR Agreement (pdf)

Carers Leaflet (pdf)

Applicant Terms and Conditions (pdf)

Privacy notice

Family Fund takes your privacy, and that of carers and their relatives, very seriously. Find out about how we use and protect your data by reading our privacy notice.