MERSEY Care has achieved the maximum Triangle of Care Award which recognises its strong commitment to partnership working between people receiving care, unpaid carers and healthcare professionals.

The Trust has been awarded Triangle of Care Star 3 following an independent peer-reviewed assessment of physical and other services, which builds on previous 1‑ and 2‑star awards achieved for its mental health, learning disability and other inpatient and community services.

The Triangle of Care is a national quality improvement scheme led by Carers Trust, promoting effective partnership between people receiving care, their carers, and healthcare professionals, and support for carers’ own needs. A carer is regarded as someone who provides unpaid care or support for a partner, parent, child, sibling, family, friend or neighbour who has a disability or long term health condition.

Jenny Hurst, Mersey Care’s Chief Nurse, said:- “We’re delighted to have achieved a Star 3 rating which reflects the huge effort our teams put in every day to involve carers as part of the people we support. We know how important carers are, and this recognition shows we’re moving in the right direction together.”

To achieve the award, Mersey Care submitted 130 evidence files and a report detailing governance, carer involvement, progress against each of the 6 Triangle of Care standards and action planning for further improvement.

Carers Trust’s 6 standards for Triangle of Care are:-

• Carers and the essential role they play are identified at 1st contact, or as soon as possible thereafter
• Staff are ‘carer aware’ and trained in carer engagement strategies
• Policy and practice protocols re: confidentiality and sharing information are in place
• Defined post(s) responsible for carers are in place
• A carer introduction to the service is available, with a relevant range of information across the care pathway
• A range of carer support services is available.

Carers Trust gave special recognition for Mersey Care's development of its Carer’s Strategic Plan 2023-2026, which includes a focus on young carers, recognition for carers as a marginalised and under-served group, a range of carer focussed roles and Trust’s growing network of Carer Champions, alongside Trust‑wide and divisional strategic leadership roles dedicated to supporting carers. 

Mary Patel, Triangle of Care Programme Lead at Carers Trust, said:- “This Triangle of Care Star Award represents a hugely positive step forward in strengthening partnerships with carers – so family and friends who look after someone with health needs are involved in care planning, and have their important role recognised. Congratulations to all the staff and carers at Mersey Care for this achievement, and we encourage everyone involved - from frontline staff to senior leads - to continue building on this foundation of good practice.”