Setting up a simple carer's emergency plan
Plan ahead for peace of mind
Suzanne - our Head of Carer Support and a carer herself - has been through the process. And has created a simple template to capture your emergency plan.
Suzanne cares for her husband Matt, who was diagnosed with Young Onset Parkinson’s 16 years ago, and regularly updates her own plan.
Once completed, you can share it with a friend or family member, or let them know where to find it.
"My advice is to work on this first - and then you can do more later and it doesn't need to take you very long."
Be ready for anything: things to consider
There is a great plan in my head about what our family would do if I was suddenly taken ill or in an accident. I even went so far as to get a carer's emergency plan set up with our local carers organisation.
This always seemed like a big job to do, but once I’d sat down with someone who helped me gather all the information together it wasn’t as hard as I had thought. Once it was completed, I was rewarded with that “peace of mind” feeling.
My husband’s medication and care needs have changed, so I know I need to update my carer's emergency plan. Changes in a situation can also be a trigger to make an update.
So I’ve taken a fresh look at my carers emergency plan. I want to keep it super simple otherwise I’ll lose momentum.
Here is my step-by-step approach:
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What information do I know from memory?
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What information do I need to look up?
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What help is there for carers?
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What needs a bit more thought and discussion? There are other people to be involved here (husband, children, parents)
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Who can help, and with what?
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What practical steps do I need to take - e.g. who will have a copy, who has a spare door key?
And then:
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How can I keep it up to date?
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What else can I do to be “ready for anything!”?
Starting with the basics to avoid overwhelm
When I started to look into making my plan I got a little distracted by some other useful things like “Medic Alert” and the “Message in a bottle scheme”.
I found information that advised me to contact my local carers organisation, get a care needs assessment for my husband and create a care plan for him, or even create an emergency health care plan. I’m sure some of these things will be relevant and useful to me but they were making the task seem more complicated.
Real top tips from real carers
"If the idea of planning for an unexpected emergency makes us feel uncomfortable, create for plan for if we have a planned hospital stay"
"Take a current prescription repeat form to appointments - list all your current meds and dosages"
"I also put the National Insurance number as well"
"A life story in book form might be able to help to get to know the person we care for, particularly for planned handovers"
"I'm saving the template in my Google Docs and will share the link with those mentioned in the plan"
"I put down symptoms to look out for which can be common in children but would require a hospital visit for my son"
"Make sure you're up-to-date with flu jabs"
"Add vet numbers if you have a pet"
"Timings of drugs is important especially with Parkinson's or diabetic drugs, so list times they need to be taken. You local pharmacy can advise you if you're not sure"
"I'm going to share the Emergency Plan with my daughter's social worker. Feels like helpful info for them."
Get started with your emergency planning
Rather than starting from scratch, we've pre-populated the questions for you. All you need to do is add the details in and start sharing with family and friends.
Download Suzanne's template for creating an easy emergency plan.