Help Shape the Lewisham Carer’s Action Plan
Hearing from Lewisham unpaid carers of all ages
Lewisham Council and our health and care partners have developed an updated Carers Action Plan for 2025–2028. To agree priorities for action, they wanted to hear from the people who know best: unpaid carers.
Residents who provide unpaid care to a family member, friend, or neighbour, whether occasionally or every day, were invited to participate.
This updated Carers’ Action Plan builds on the previous Carers’ Implementation Plan and respond to feedback already provided by Carers through existing forums and engagement activities.
Why is important to get involved?
Your voice has shaped the priorities and actions that guide how we support carers across Lewisham over the next three years. We wanted to understand:
- What matters most to you as a carer?
- What support has helped — or what’s missing?
- How can services work better for you and the person you care for?
Who could take part?
We were looking for unpaid carers of all ages and backgrounds, including:
- young carers and adult carers
- carers with across the range of caring experiences, for example, physical or learning disabilities, mental health needs, or long-term conditions
- carers from all communities and cultural backgrounds
Whether you’ve been caring for years or just started, your experience was valuable.
How did we engage?
Over a few months, we the Council listened to carers in the following ways:
- join existing forums, such as the Council’s Open Forum for unpaid carers, which is held bi-monthly
- working groups
- interviews
- with surveys (online and in paper form)
We also invited unpaid carers to be involved in shaping the strategy, through workshops or interviews.
Your insights have helped us build a more inclusive, supportive, and responsive system for all carers in Lewisham.
Unpaid carers feedback and next steps
Several engagement sessions took place, including:
- online sessions
- Complex Carers meeting
- Autism Coffee Morning
- Young Carers meeting
- Wellbeing Workers session
A Public Survey ran between October and December 2025, with a total of 51 responses. Overall, the feedback received on the Action Plan priorities was overwhelmingly positive. The themes were:
- Visible: Carers are identified and recognised across services.
- Valued and respected: Carers are treated as partners in care and service design and development relevant to them
- Supported: Carers receive timely, tailored support to live fulfilling lives.
Find more information and details on the plans for each priority on the engagement summary.
The Unpaid Carers Action Plan was presented to Lewisham Healthier Communities Select Committee and approved on January 2026.
