Carer participation in England, Wales and Northern Ireland: a challenge for interprofessional working

Much policy and practice attention has been focused on the participation and involvement of informal carers in service assessment, provision and review. The advent of the National Carers Strategy, the Community Care Delayed Discharge Act, Carers and Disabled Children Act and latterly the Carers (Equal Opportunities) Act have all played their part in giving greater significance to carer involvement. The role of professional cooperation and willingness to see carers as equal partners is a key factor in achieving these objectives. This paper relates details of a study of current carer participation in England, Wales and Northern Ireland and begs a number of important questions as to the challenges for interprofessional working in supporting carer participation.