June 10th 2026
The theme of this year’s Carers Week, Building Carer Friendly Communities, feels particularly important at a time when many unpaid carers still feel isolated, exhausted or overlooked.
Across the UK, an estimated 5.8 million people provide unpaid care for a partner, parent, child, friend or neighbour. Many balance caring alongside work, family life and their own health needs. Caring can also make it difficult to attend meetings, access support or stay connected socially.
Technology cannot remove those pressures entirely. But when designed well, it can help carers feel more connected, informed and supported.
Helping carers stay connected
For many unpaid carers, technology is already quietly helping with everyday life.
That might mean using video calls to check in on someone from work, joining online peer support groups late at night, or using shared calendars and messaging apps to coordinate family support.
Some digital tools are specifically designed around carers’ experiences. For example, Jointly, developed by Carers UK with carers, helps families and support networks coordinate care, share updates, organise medication and appointments, and communicate more easily with everyone involved in someone’s care.
Technology can also provide reassurance. Telecare alarms, falls detectors, medication reminders, smart home sensors and remote monitoring tools can help carers feel more confident that someone is safe when they cannot always be there in person.
In many homes, digital support is simply becoming part of everyday caring. Smart speakers may be used for reminders and routines, while sensor-based technology can quietly help monitor risks without constantly intruding on someone’s independence.
None of this replaces human care or relationships. But it can reduce stress, support independence and help carers feel less alone.
Supporting co-production with carers
Technology can also make it easier for carers to share their experiences and shape services.
For some carers, attending workshops or meetings in person is almost impossible because of unpredictable caring responsibilities. Digital approaches can create more flexible ways to contribute, whether through online meetings, digital surveys, messaging platforms or remote feedback sessions.
As health and social care services increasingly talk about co-production, digital tools can help make that more realistic and inclusive. Carers should not have to choose between caring and being heard.
Katie Thorn, Director of Innovation at Digital Care Hub, said:
“Carers often know best what would make care safer, easier and more joined up. As digital and neighbourhood-based models of care develop, their insight must be part of the design — not an afterthought.”
Good information sharing matters too
Supporting carers is not only about devices or apps. It is also about making sure the right information is available at the right time.
With the person’s consent, carers may need access to medication information, discharge plans, appointment details or care instructions. Without that, carers can end up repeating the same story over and over again or trying to manage risks without the full picture.
Good data sharing should always be lawful, proportionate and respectful of people’s wishes. But systems also need to recognise carers properly and make it easier to record who the carer is, what information can be shared and what support the carer may need too.
Carers and neighbourhood health
As neighbourhood health plans develop across England, unpaid carers need to be part of the conversation from the start.
Neighbourhood health aims to bring services together locally, support prevention and help more care happen closer to home. But much of that care already depends on unpaid carers.
Carers’ experiences can help local systems understand where support is missing, whether around hospital discharge, respite support, digital exclusion or carers’ own health and wellbeing.
Building carer friendly communities means listening to carers, understanding the realities of caring and making sure digital transformation works for the people who give so much of their time, energy and care to others.
Digital Care in Focus: Co-production
We will be discussing this issue further in July – which is our Digital Care in Focus: Coproduction month. This will include our webinar Co-production in Digital Care: Putting People in Control – 9 July. Find out more and book.