Emergency card for carers

A simple way to give carers peace of mind has been launched by North Yorkshire County Council to coincide with national Get Online Week, which runs until Sunday.

The carer’s emergency card is available to any carer over 18. In the event of something happening to prevent them from carrying out their caring duties, the card can be activated and the situation urgently reviewed. The carer’s card, which looks like a credit card, can now be picked up from any North Yorkshire library, county council office or carers’ resource centre.

The carer then simply visits the council’s website, www. northyorks.gov.uk/cec, registers the card and sets up their emergency arrangements.

Public computers in libraries across the county can also be used to register the card.

Cllr Clare Wood, executive member for Adult Social Care and Health Integration, said: “More than 6,000 carer’s emergency cards have already been issued in North Yorkshire.

“The service provides the peace of mind that comes from knowing that in an emergency the person who they provide care for will be contacted urgently by our assessment staff. The new online card registration makes it even easier and quicker to put that plan in place.”