Improving health and social care support for carers from black and minority ethnic communities

This briefing paper draws attention to the experience of black and minority ethnic carers in the context of mainstream service provision and recent policy developments such as the National Carers Strategies, service user and carer involvement and the personalisation agenda. It acknowledges that marginalisation is often a consequence of lack of support for both carers and black and minority ethnic communities in health and social care. The paper highlights the diversity of carers from these ethnic backgrounds and the multifaceted impact of discrimination. Discussion focuses on the hidden cost of caring, the fact that black and minority ethnic carers are not 'hard to reach' but 'easy to overlook', whether appropriate provision should be through mainstream or separate black and minority ethnic services, service user and carer involvement in health and social care, and the fact that black and minority ethnic carers are not a homogeneous group.