I am a public health registrar working in the North East of England. My project is about supporting unpaid carers to be more physically active through social prescribing approaches. Social prescribing means connecting people with local community services and activities to meet their health and wellbeing needs.

Unpaid carers face many barriers that stop them from being physically active and these impact on their health and wellbeing. Carers need holistic and personalised support in their local community rather than one-size-fits-all services that only address one barrier at a time. During my Fellowship I hope to find out more about how other countries commission and provide services that support unpaid carers, and how community groups and activities make themselves accessible.

On completion of the Fellowship I will produce a set of commissioning principles that can be applied nationally. I will also explore running a local project to try out innovative activities or services.

I am excited to use my lived experience as a carer with my professional experience in public health and social prescribing policy to make an impact on the lives of carers.