Benefits to people that care for people with diabetes

this should read she never asks the NHS for help.

Hi, just joined this group, I have diabetes and my wife has AF, both aged 80.

So we are carers for each other. You need to know new NHS policy on this, I quote from their new long term plan:

1. The 15 million people in England with long term conditions (LTCs) take up half of all GP appointments and hospital bed days, so current services are not sustainable. Services treat people as passive recipients of care rather than encouraging self-care and recognising the person and their carer as the experts on how his/her condition affects their life.
2. Over the next ten years, NHS will give digital access to services, so patients and their carers can better manage their own health and condition; e.g. in Tower Hamlets Chronic Kidney Disease e-Clinics 50% of referrals are managed without the need for a hospital appointment. The average waiting time for a renal clinic appointment has fallen to 5 days, from 64 days in 2015.
3. Carers will benefit from greater recognition and support, because 5.5 million people in England have an unpaid caring role, some doing 50 + hours care per week. Carers are twice as likely to suffer from poor health. Carer's passports will identify someone as a carer and enable staff to involve them in a patient's care (good practice: trials in Manchester and Bristol). Electronic health records will allow people to share their caring status with healthcare professionals wherever they go. NHS will ensure that more carers understand the out-of-hours options and have appropriate back-up support.

So ensure your carer registers with your GP soonest. Our GP also informed a local health charity, which kindly sent us a cheque for £300 towards a break for the carer.