How carer aware are you?

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Every day, we encounter people who provide unpaid care. They could be family, friends, partners or neighbours, all supporting someone with health or care needs.
In Scotland alone, there are an estimated 700,000 to 800,000 unpaid carers, including young carers. These individuals face a wide range of challenges that can impact their health, finances, and overall wellbeing. ”How Carer Aware Are You?” is a podcast created to support the health, social care, and third sector workforce to work effectively with unpaid carers. Recognising their role as Equal Partners in Care.
Join us for insightful conversations with carers and professionals who share their real-life experiences, the joys and struggles of caring, and practical advice for integrating carer awareness into your everyday practice. We also explore the legislative landscape and tackle complex, sometimes uncomfortable, topics head-on.
Whether you’re new to the topic or looking to deepen your understanding, this podcast offers valuable perspectives and actionable tips. Visit our Caring for unpaid carers Turas Learn page for additional resources, including leaflets and tools to help you champion unpaid carers in your role. The How Carer Aware Are You? podcast is brought to you by the NES Unpaid Carers Programme.
© NHS Education for Scotland 2025. You can copy or reproduce the information in these podcasts for use within NHS Scotland and for non-commercial educational purposes under creative commons CC BY-NC 4.0 Deed | Attribution Non-Commercial 4.0 International | Creative commons. Use of this resource for commercial purposes is permitted only with the written permission of NHS Education for Scotland.

How Carer Aware Are You?

A podcast by the NES Unpaid Carers Programme

Launching on Carers Rights Day – 20th November, this podcast is for everyone working in health, social care, and the third sector. It’s about understanding how to work with unpaid carers as Equal Partners in Care.

Unpaid carers are people who provide care without pay to someone who needs support—often family members, friends, partners, or neighbours of the individuals we work with every day.

In our first episode, meet the NES Unpaid Carers Programme team and hear why we’re passionate about helping carers know and realise their rights. We’ll share practical advice to help you:

Identify unpaid carers in your everyday work
Include them in care planning and decision-making
Support them in accessing the help they need

Join us to explore how carer awareness can transform your practice—and make a real difference.

🔔 Subscribe now and be part of the change.

Episodes

Thursday Nov 20, 2025

How carer aware are you? Highlighting carers rights day!

Thursday Nov 20, 2025

This year, Carers Rights Day is on Thursday 20 November and the theme is 'Know your rights, use your rights.' Get involved and help to make sure more carers are aware of their rights and feel empowered to use them.

Our first episode is launched on Carers Rights Day. It is estimated that one in seven people in Scotland provide some form of unpaid care. Many carers remain unaware of their rights and don't know where to get help and support.

We introduce the NES Unpaid Carers programme and are joined by Michelle Morrison, Rachel Tainsh and Ryan Watson.
We explore the definition of unpaid care and how to identify carers.
We introduce the Carers (Scotland) Act 2016, reflecting it's preventative approach and encouragement to have meaningful conversations with individual carers.
We encourage health and social care staff to explore our resources on Caring for unpaid carers Turas Learn page and support them to signpost and raise awareness of the needs of carers.

This podcast contains

Discussion of topics such as mental illness and suicide,
It mentions suicidal ideation.

If this content might disturb you, or those around you who may overhear, please reconsider listening or accessing the written transcript.

Access a transcript of the How carer aware are you? Highlighting carers rights day episode.

We would love to hear your feedback! Share your thoughts on the podcast by completing our How carer aware are you? feedback questionnaire. Your input helps us to improve and bring you even better content!

The information contained in this podcast is current at the point of publication, with no guarantee of future relevance.

How can you get involved?

1. Subscribe to the podcast to follow us and get notified when our content is released.

2. Visit our Caring for unpaid carers Turas Learn page for additional resources, including leaflets and tools to help you champion unpaid carers in your role. Or check out the Scottish Government 'A helping hand for carers' leaflet.

3. Learn more about the Unpaid carers programme team. Review our biographies below and get to know your hosts!

The Unpaid carers programme team

Michelle Morrison

Hi, I’m Michelle Morrison, and I’m part of the NES Unpaid Carers Programme team. My background is in supporting unpaid carers, having worked alongside people caring for family members with a learning disability for over thirty years. I’m passionate about making sure unpaid carers are recognised, valued, and supported—not just in policy, but in everyday practice. Working on this podcast has been a chance to bring together voices from across health, social care, and the third sector, and to shine a light on the real experiences of carers. I believe that when we listen closely and act thoughtfully, we can make a real difference in how carers are treated—as Equal Partners in Care.

Rachel Tainsh

I’m Rachel Tainsh, a Senior Educator with the NES Unpaid Carers Programme. I joined the team in 2024, bringing over 25 years of experience as an Allied Health Professional. I’ve worked across the UK and internationally in areas like disability, development, and infant mental health. I want to make sure that carers voices are valued, heard and amplified- this podcast enables us to have good conversations and provides a space to listen and learn. I also bring my own lived experience of caring, which gives me a personal connection to the work we do. I’m passionate about helping professionals recognise carers as Equal Partners in Care and making sure they feel confident to support carers in meaningful, practical ways.

Ryan Watson

Hi, I’m Ryan Watson, an Admin Assistant in the Social Care and Communities Directorate. As part of the Unpaid Carers Programme team, I manage our resources and the Turas Learn platform. I’ve worked at NES for several years, providing business support across areas such as person-centred care and spiritual care. I also support a family member as an unpaid carer, which makes me passionate about promoting the message that unpaid carers should be identified and involved as Equal Partners in Care.