Carers Week 2025: celebrating our commitment to equality for carers

This year the annual Carers Week campaign is running from 9th-15th June. It aims to raise awareness of caring, recognise the difference carers make to families and communities, whilst also highlighting some of the challenges that unpaid carers face across the UK.

The theme of Carers Week this year is ‘Caring About Equality’, highlighting the inequalities that carers experience e.g. poverty, social isolation, poor mental and physical health.

In line with this year’s theme, NHS Western Isles is sharing some information on what we do as an organisation to support carers.

NHS Western Isles was recognised as a Carer Positive employer in July 2022. The organisation was praised on its Special Leave Policy, the provision of health and wellbeing support, and the practical and technical provisions to allow staff to work from home.

As a recipient of the Carer Positive employer recognition, employees of NHS Western Isles benefit from workplace cultures and practices which value and support staff with caring responsibilities. 

Our ‘carer friendly’ policies e.g. Carers Leave and Flexible Working Policy, allow us to also share in the benefits by reducing levels of stress, reducing sickness absence, lowering recruitment and training costs, and increasing staff morale and productivity levels.

Diane Macdonald, Director of Human Resources and Workforce Development, NHS Western Isles, said: “The NHS has a strong commitment to supporting staff who are carers at home with policies that often go far beyond the statutory minimum requirements.  Balancing work and care can be difficult, but also very rewarding,  It's important that staff feel able to speak to their employer about the demands on them and be able to receive the appropriate advice and support to be able to remain at work."