Gray, Ben

This paper reports on some of the findings from a collaborative study funded by the Big Lottery and led by Crossroads Caring for Carers about carers for people with mental health problems. The protection and use of information in mental health are firmly rooted in ethics and professional codes, law and policy, as well as values and professional practice. While government initiatives have attempted to augment the role and rights of carers, policy guidance involving information sharing between professionals and carers has failed to deal with the practical dilemmas of patient confidentiality.

Young carers of people with mental health problems are highly hidden, ostracised and vulnerable. To make matters worse, many professionals from the social, health and education sectors are not fully aware of the difficulties and central issues facing young carers of people with mental health problems. In order to make young carers of people with mental health problems more visible and to explore gaps in need and good practice from the perspectives of professionals, 65 participants were interviewed. The sample included professionals from the social, healthcare and voluntary sectors.