Glasgow City Council has appointed former councillor Dr Christopher Mason MBE as the city’s new, independent Carers’ Champion.

The first appointment of its kind in Scotland, the Carers’ Champion will be expected to listen to carers, understand their needs, and ensure that their views are properly heard within the council.

Dr Mason, who retired as a councillor in May this year after 30 years as an elected member, was identified for the role in large part due to his long standing commitment to developing support services for people with autism in Glasgow. He was confirmed in the position following a meeting of the council’s Executive Committee, which gave cross party support to the role of Carers’ Champion.

Dr Mason said: “I am grateful for the opportunity to do this work.   My first task will be to listen carefully to what carers have to say and to report faithfully their views on what they find helpful and what they would like to be changed.   My aim is to help the City Council and the bodies that represent carers’ interests to work even better together to help carers to fulfill their role as carers and to provide reassurance about the future care of those they look after.”

As Carers’ Champion, Dr Mason will be expected to undertake a series of visits and meetings with the carer community in Glasgow, which is estimated to number more than 55,000 people. He will also be tasked with playing a key role in establishing a Carers’ Reference Group, which will bring together representation from established carer groups, networks and  forums from across Glasgow under one umbrella.

Both the Carers’ Champion and the reference group will in turn work with the Executive Director of Social Work to develop updated policies for both young and adult carers.  They will also have a responsibility to influence the planning and delivery of services to assist carers as they go about their daily routine.

Councillor Matt Kerr, the council’s Executive Member for Social Care, had taken soundings from a wide range of carers before proposing the role of Carers’ Champion to the council.  In his view it was obvious from the feedback he received that a clear channel of communication was needed between the council and carers.

He said: “It is impossible to underestimate the importance of carers within our health and social care system. They are the ones who are there day-after-day providing vital care and support to their family members, many of whom will be the most vulnerable in society.

“We know carers face an incredible range of issues with the ability to access support very much a concern. The role of the Carers’ Champion will be just as it sounds – to represent the views of carers within the city with the aim of improving their lives.

“The champion will be an independent voice but will work closely with the new Carers Reference Group and social care services to push things forward. In respect we think that Dr Mason is the ideal choice for his role. He has enjoyed a long career in local government, but is also renowned for his work in supporting groups with complex care needs.”

The different groups consulted on how carers’ views could best be heard included people caring for someone with dementia, young carers, black and ethnic minority carers, people caring for someone with a physical disability, kinship carers, people caring for someone with a learning disability, people caring for someone with an addiction, people caring for an older person, parents or carers caring for a child with disability.

Many carers provide care for more than one person and this can involve caring for family members from three different generations, all of whom have a variety of long term health conditions.

Under the agreed plan, the city-wide Carers’ Reference Group will be made up of delegates from three area groups to ensure the best possible representation of carers from across Glasgow.
The Carers’ Champion can be contacted on 0141 276 1212 or carers.champion@glasgow.gov.uk

http://www.glasgow.gov.uk/en/News/