News & Blog

New Carer Flag Introduced in the YHCR  

A new Carer Flag has been introduced within the Yorkshire & Humber Care Record (YHCR) for West Yorkshire.

This will indicate when a patient is an unpaid carer for someone else, who may need additional help if the carer is admitted to, or conveyed to, hospital. 

An unpaid carer is anyone who provides unpaid care or support to a family member or friend who has a disability, illness, or who need support in later life due to frailty, and they could not manage without that care or support. 

This is an incredibly important piece of work as it helps identify when unpaid carers are unexpectedly taken into hospital or another health service. Having clear, visible information about this helps clinicians act quickly to ensure contingency plans are in place for the cared-for person. 

This is a regional initiative to strengthen support for unpaid carers and goes hand-in-hand with enhanced communications to help staff on the ground understand what the Carer Flag looks like in the shared care record, and what to do when they encounter this marker when working with digital tools.  

We’re proud of our shared care record teams across West Yorkshire, South Yorkshire and Humber and North Yorkshire and look forward to continuing to work together to implement innovative solutions that strengthen patient safety and user experience.  

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