Create an emergency plan

It's a good idea to create an emergency plan - for you and the person you look after. It might be as simple as contacting a family member, but having a plan in place can ease your worries.

Find out more about making an emergency care plan from Carers UK

Apply for funded emergency care 

You may be able to set up emergency care with us. You could get up to 72 hours of funded care. You'll need to complete a carer's assessment to find out.

Part of the carer's assessment looks at your plans for dealing with an emergency - something that stops you from acting as a carer. You'll be asked about the usual daily routine of the person you care for, the support you provide and the contact details of two people who can step into your shoes if needed. 

If you're entitled to emergency care, we'll set up an emergency care plan and give you a card to keep in your wallet or purse. The card will show:

  • your name
  • a reference number
  • a 24 hour emergency phone number for you to call if you need to put the emergency plan into action

All you need to do is call the emergency phone number and the arrangements will be taken care of.

Get help in an emergency

Even if you haven’t had a carer’s assessment you may still get emergency support. You can call us at any time for help. If it's out of hours the automated message may tell you that the office is closed but there are staff there to take your call. Please hold on until they answer. 

 

We'll take a message for the social work team who will call you back. Our team will then either:

  • put into action your pre-arranged emergency plan (if you have one set up with us), or
  • make arrangements through an emergency home-based respite service or emergency residential or nursing care home placement