Ali Curtis, National Nurse Lead for CAMHS said: “We held a Young Carers Action Day event at Cygnet Hospital Sheffield today. Two young people (Isaac and Kai), Mia – a CAMHS expert by experience, family members, Julian and Christine – Cygnet Carer Ambassadors, and MDT from across the CAMHS wards all came together to celebrate Young Carers Action Day. There has been lots of glitter, tie-dye, decorations and cake and we celebrated the launch of our Young Carers Information Leaflets which the young carers at Cygnet Hospital Sheffield have created.
“The leaflet was put together by Isaac, Kai, and Elles, three young people who identify as young carers. They spoke about how there’s lots of information out there about carers, but they would appreciate having information from other young carers. So they’ve worked together to create the sort of leaflet they would find helpful to signpost resources and information about being a young carer.”
The leaflet will be included in welcome packs for all young people entering Cygnet services who may or may not already identify as a young carer.
Ali added: “One of the big things that’s been highlighted from the piece of work we’ve done with the young people is that lots of young carers don’t know that they are young carers, and they don’t identify as young carers. For example, they may take it for granted that they help look after a relative who has a physical disability and not know they could be classed as a young carer, or that there’s additional support available to them.”
Going forward young people being admitted to a Cygnet CAMHS service will be asked additional questions to identify whether they may be a young carer, and all young people will be provided with the leaflet.
The information will be shared across all Cygnet CAMHS services, with our Carer Networks, Cygnet Carer Leads, the Provider Collaborative, and with our colleagues in the NHS, to celebrate the fantastic initiative by our young people.