Carer's Emergency Plan: What to Include

If you are the person someone relies on day to day, the question that matters is simple: what happens to them if you are taken ill, have an accident, or are kept away by another emergency? A carer's emergency plan answers it in advance. It is a short document that sets out what needs to be done to support the person you care for if you cannot carry out your caring role at short notice¹. Carers UK advises all carers to create one, for themselves and for everyone they look after².

The plan does not have to be long. At its heart are the people to ring, the care and treatment the person needs, and the routines that keep them well. It should name who to contact in an emergency, including family, friends and professionals³, and it should record the care and support services the person receives⁴. Once it is written, you share it with the people named in it and keep it up to date.

One thing to be clear about from the start: an emergency plan does not include free care or rapid access to social care services⁵. What it does is make sure the right people know what to do, and that the wishes of the person you care for about replacement care have already been written down⁶. That is what turns a crisis into a manageable few phone calls.

The checklist: what to put in your plan

Work through this list and you will have a plan that someone else could act on. Each item earns its place because it is what a helper, a helpline or an emergency worker would need to know.

1. Your name and contact details, and the person you care for. The basics that let anyone pick the plan up and know who it concerns⁸.
2. Who to contact in an emergency. Family, friends and professionals, in the order you would ring them³.
3. The care and support you provide. What you actually do in a day, so a stand-in knows the shape of the job⁵.
4. Any care and support services the person receives. Regular visits, support workers, day services, and who provides them⁴.
5. Medications. What is taken, and anything a stand-in must know about it⁸.
6. GP information and medical information. The surgery, and the conditions that matter day to day⁸.
7. Details of any ongoing treatment they need. Appointments, therapies and anything that cannot simply wait¹¹.
8. Preferred routines. How the person likes their day to run, which matters as much as the medical facts⁵.
9. Any communication difficulties. How the person communicates and what helps, so a stranger can understand and be understood⁵.
10. How you will contact each other in an emergency. Agree this with the person you care for in advance¹².
11. Important people who can help. Neighbours, friends and others nearby who would step in⁸.
12. Who should be contacted if you cannot provide care. The same information belongs in your emergency hospital bag, in case you are the one admitted¹³.

Emergency contacts: who steps in if you cannot

The contacts section is the part that gets used first, so give it the most thought. A plan sets out in advance what needs to happen to the person you care for in an emergency if you are unable to continue providing care, and identifies someone to be contacted⁷. Include who you and the person you look after would like to be contacted, such as friends, family or professionals¹⁴.

Think in layers rather than a single name. A neighbour who can be there in ten minutes does a different job from a relative two hours away, and both are worth having. Keep important contact details in an easy-to-find location, and identify family members, friends or neighbours who may be able to help in an emergency¹³. If you rely on carers, support workers or personal assistants, make sure they know about your emergency plan too¹⁵.

Then test it. Talk the plan through with the person you care for, if possible, and with those you would like to be named as emergency contacts. Share it with trusted family, friends and healthcare professionals, give people a copy or let them know where to find it, and make sure it is regularly updated¹⁶. A contact who has never heard of the plan will not answer the phone expecting to help.

If, despite the plan, you cannot organise alternative care, contact your local authority or health care provider¹⁰. That is the backstop, not the first step.

Care and support services and ongoing treatment

The second half of the plan is about the care itself. Start with what is already in place: the plan should include any care and support services the person receives⁴. Write down who comes, on which days, and what they do, so a stand-in does not cancel something that matters or duplicate it.

Then the health detail. An emergency plan can include emergency contacts, medications, GP information, medical information and the important people who can help⁸. Add details of any ongoing treatment they need¹¹, because treatment that is interrupted by a week of confusion is often harder to restart than care that simply continues.

Routines and communication belong here too. Emergency plans need to include details about the care and support you provide for the person as well as emergency contacts, health needs, preferred routines and any communication difficulties⁵. A page on how the person likes to be woken, what they will and will not eat, and how they let you know something is wrong is worth more to a stranger than a page of diagnoses.

If the person you care for has needs that change quickly in an emergency, the pages on dementia and emergencies, home oxygen therapy and airflow mattresses set out what else to record and prepare. For the wider household picture, from power cuts to flooding, see Carers: Planning for When You Cannot Be There.

Getting help setting up your plan and your card

You do not have to build this from scratch. For help setting up your emergency plan and getting your card, speak to your local carers centre¹. Many local carer services and local councils offer carer schemes where an emergency plan can be put into action if you have an accident or become ill¹⁷.

The card is the visible half of the plan. It states that you are a carer and that someone is relying on you to keep them safe and well, shows your emergency plan number and the emergency helpline number, and you should always carry it with you⁹. When it is used, the service will activate your emergency plan by calling your contacts so they can help the person you care for⁵. In Norfolk, for example, the emergency helpline service will contact the emergency contacts named in your plan, and your contacts can then help the person you care for⁹.

Schemes differ by area and by nation, so check what your council offers. In Cornwall, the Emergency Carer's Card Scheme is for carers who are concerned about what would happen if they were taken ill, in an accident, or stopped from getting to the person they care for by another emergency¹⁸. In Scotland, the Carers Scotland emergency card lets emergency workers and others know that someone relies on you as a carer and provides spaces for emergency contacts, for example a friend or family member who can help take over caring¹⁶. Carers Scotland also publishes guidance on creating a contingency plan¹⁴, and NHS Tayside points carers to the Carers Scotland webpage for further information¹.

If reading and writing are difficult, ask your council or carers centre for an easy read version of the plan. For help setting up your emergency plan and getting your card, speak to your local carers centre¹⁶. The card states that you are a carer and that someone is relying on you to keep them safe and well, shows your emergency plan number and the emergency helpline number, and you should always carry it with you⁹.

Keeping the plan ready and sharing it

A plan that lives in a drawer nobody knows about is not a plan. Talk about it with the person you care for, if possible, and with those you would like to be named as emergency contacts. Share it with trusted family, friends and healthcare professionals, give people a copy or let them know where to find it, and make sure it is regularly updated¹⁶. Make a plan with the person you care for about how you will contact each other in an emergency¹².

Having a plan in place can reduce the worry for you, the person you care for and your family¹⁹. A contingency plan gives you peace of mind that, in an emergency, you and your cared for person's wishes about replacement care have already been documented⁶. As a carer, it is important to have a plan in place to help you and the person you care for in an emergency⁶.

Keep the practical side simple. Store the plan where you would look for it in a hurry, keep the card on you at all times⁹, and put the same contact information in your hospital bag in case you are the one who is admitted¹³. If you want a short record of who to ring for the person you care for, the In Case of Emergency Card checklist covers what to write on it, and the Hospital Grab Bag checklist covers what to pack for an admission. Households with someone who needs extra help in a power cut or a flood can also register for priority support: see Signing Up to Priority Services Registers and the wider Extra Help in an Emergency section.