Shared Care Scotland

The Creative Breaks Conference was held on November 16th 2011 by Shared Care Scotland. This conference was for people who commission, provide and use short break services in Scotland.

By applying our creative talents - and perhaps being a bit more adventurous - we can also look ‘outside the box’ for new and imaginative solutions to achieving better breaks for unpaid carers and the people that they care for.

Video of Michael Matheson's contribution to the Creative Breaks conference. He highlights the need for creative approaches to providing short breaks and respite care to carers and the people they care for.

The main aims for the research were set out in the contract specification as follows. 

The Scottish Government and COSLA are determined to ensure that carers are supported to manage their caring responsibilities with confidence and in good health, and to have a life of their own outside of caring. This is the strategy to make that happen.

This report projects a bold new vision for unpaid carers in Scotland — a vision based on a strong framework of rights, in line with the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. In this vision, the caring contribution of carers to society will be fully recognised, the economic impact of their contribution accepted, and as such they will be wholly included in a society which will provide adequate support to carers.

Summary of research undertaken in USA in 2006 giving details of savings made for the state when carers look after family members and loved ones.

Objectives: To review the evidence for different models of community-based respite care for frail older people and their carers, where the participant group included older people with frailty, disability, cancer or dementia. Where data permitted, subgroups of carers and care recipients, for whom respite care is particularly effective or cost-effective, were to be identified.

Action for Children and the Every Disabled Child Matters Campaign commissioned this report which aims to explore the social and economic value created by effective local delivery of short breaks – the largest component of the Aiming High for Disabled Children (AHDC) programme – aimed at those with the most complex needs. Of the social and economic value created, particular focus is given to the value generated for the state.

The study aimed to establish the current state of knowledge about the effectiveness and cost-effectiveness of respite services and short breaks for carers for people with dementia. The overall aim encompassed six objectives:
• to identify the range of services available for carers,
• to examine evidence from national and international published and grey
(unpublished) literature about effectiveness and cost-effectiveness of
respite services for carers of people with dementia,