Website of the Department of Health

The Carers Project in Preston has set up an A-Z Directory of Services for Carers in the Preston area. The Directory is reasonably compact (88 pages) and printed in a larger font (often helpful for some older carers). Copies are made available at exhibitions, support group meetings, GP practices and health centres, as well as being placed on a website. The Directory, which provides information about particular services and how to access them, has been very popular with health and social service professionals and carers alike. The team found that it is better not to treat the Directory as a one-off publication, but to keep a file of all relevant and potential material and/or a master copy, which can be annotated as the year progresses to avoid updating of the directory becoming too daunting.

The project also produces laminated locker cards outlining what local carers' organisations can offer. These are put on every bedside locker in Preston NHS hospitals and are a low-cost way of getting information to carers at a time when they are at their most vulnerable.