No one should have to care alone

Emergency Care Plan   

TIPS FOR COMPLETING YOUR EMERGENCY CARE PLAN

Please read prior to starting your application. 

Thank you for your interest in completing the Family Carers Ireland Emergency Care Plan (ECP).

If you are caring for more than one person, you will need to complete a separate ECP for each person. Each ECP will take approximately 20-30 minutes to complete, however you will have the option to "Save and Continue Later" and you will be sent an email with the link to complete it when you are ready. If you are satisfied that you have entered all the correct information, you can "Preview" your plan before you hit the "Submit" button on the last page. 

You will be asked to provide details as outlined below. It will be helpful and save you time if you have these to hand prior to starting your ECP. 

You will be required to provide contact details about yourself and the person you care for including eircodes; you can look up your eircode at https://www.eircode.ie. You will also provide information about the person you care for, including their diagnosis/disabilities, medications and additional support they might need. Additionally, any applicable contact information for the cared for person’s GP, pharmacy and any external support services they are involved with such as the HSE, Day Services, Tusla, Home Support and Respite Services will need to be provided. If you need more space for any of your answers, there is a blank page provided at the end of the form.  

You will also be asked to name Emergency Contacts (where available) who can step in and provide care for the person you care for in the event of an emergency. Please provide current contact details for each person you nominate and ensure that they are aware you are nominating them prior to completing ECP. 

Please note, that the emergency response will only be active once you receive your completed plan and card in the post from us.  

This booklet is for family carers to record the care and support needs of the person they care for. In the event of an emergency, the people they nominate as an emergency contact can temporarily step in and know what those needs are.

Before you complete the plan, talk with:

1. The person you care for (where possible)
2. The emergency contact you have nominated.
3. Other family members, healthcare professionals and people you trust. 

1. COMPLETE THE EMERGENCY CARE PLAN for the person you support.

   2. NOMINATE TWO PEOPLE (family members, friends or neighbours) who agree to step into your caring role if you are in an accident or emergency. This is an important part of the scheme. Include their details in the plan together with the details of agencies or services involved in supporting the person you care for.

  3. RETURN THE PLAN TO US by hitting the SUBMIT button at the end of the online form. We will then send you out a copy of your plan and an Emergency Card. Carry the card with you and if something happens, the Emergency Services or a member of the public can call the dedicated 24/7 Freephone Emergency Helpline.

  4. WHEN WE RECEIVE A CALL we contact the people you have nominated. We ask them to step into your caring role and we share the Emergency Care Plan with them. If they are unavailable, we link with any agencies or services you have listed. If we cannot agree a plan at this point, or if it's outside normal hours, we contact the Emergency Services or mobilise our partners from the Irish Red Cross, Order of Malta or the National Ambulance Services Community First Responders. A plan for the next 72 hours is then agreed.

Family Carers Ireland is legally obligated to ensure that your data and the data of those you refer to in the emergency care plan is protected. To ensure we can do this, please complete the following:

If you require more room for 'Special Instructions' for medications or supplements, you can provide them later on Page 11.  

Day Service (if applicable):

If the person you care for is under 18, and their care and support is linked to Tusla, please list the main contact: 

Home Support / Personal Assistant Support (if applicable):

Respite Service (if applicable):

Respite Service (if applicable):

Use this space to tell us any other information that a person would need to know to provide care that isn’t outlined above. For example, you could use this space to outline any physical activity or OT routines, psychosocial or spiritual needs (pray, meditate, church) etc.

You may include recreation / social activities, cultural or ethnic considerations.

Please also tell us about any issues we may have gaining access to the property and any potential risks e.g. a pet or if you’re location is known to be high risk e.g. if there is antisocial behaviour. 

NOTE: If you require more space, use the Other Information Continued field in the next section. 

On the last page you will have the option to "Preview PDF". You can review, download and/or print your ECP from this page and then click the "Back to Form" located top left of the screen.

This will bring you back to your form where you can "Save and Continue Later" or hit "Submit" if you are happy. 

Once we receive your completed ECP and confirm all required information is completed, we will mail out your Emergency Card and completed plan. 

This is a FREE scheme open to all family carers

You will receive confirmation of receipt and you will be sent an emergency card in the post. Please carry it with you at all times and carry it where it would be easily located if you were unable to communicate. In the event of an emergency, if someone calls the number on the card, we contact the people you have nominated. We ask them to step into your caring role and we share the Emergency Care Plan with them. If they are unavailable, we link with any agencies or services you have listed. If we cannot agree a plan, at this point we contact the Emergency Services or our team of volunteers from The Irish Red Cross, The Order of Malta or the National Ambulance Service Community First Responders.

You will be contacted by email to remind you to review and update this plan twice a year to make sure that the information we have is accurate and up to date. It is your responsibility to notify us of any changes to the plan

• Discuss your plan with your emergency contacts and provide them with a copy or let them know where they can find it. Provide them with a house key if required.
• Make sure the information is regularly updated.
• Consider downloading the social story about the emergency scheme - this is a great tool to use to explain the scheme to the person you care for.
• Find out your Eircode and make sure it is available close to the phone or the front door of the house in case of an emergency.
• Make sure you have enough medication for the person for a month – please don’t stockpile medication as others who need it may not have access to it.
• In the event of an emergency, please contact 999.
• Try to relax and know that you have a plan in the event of an emergency situation.

This document was developed by Family Carers Ireland in response to the COVID-19 outbreak at the request of our members but it can be used for any emergency.

If you would like to share your experience of completing this document or using this plan, we would love to hear from you. If there is additional information you would like to see included in future versions, please contact us by email at emergencyscheme@familycarers.ie

 

Family Carers Ireland provides services and supports to carers of all ages across Ireland. This support includes access to our National Freephone Careline 1800 24 07 24 where you can receive information and support, join the emergency scheme, find out about carer support groups, get information about rights and entitlements, receive home care, respite, engage in one-to-one counselling, get support through advocacy, and participate in education and training and other activities designed to give you a break.

See www.familycarers.ie to become a member and get access to a range of supports and membership benefits including discounts for a large number of services and products.

Please select "Preview your PDF" prior to submitting it, to ensure all the information is correct.

Once you are happy, hit the "Submit" button.