Carers' emergency card: what if something happens to me?

What a carers' emergency card is

Many unpaid carers carry the same quiet worry. If I am in an accident, or suddenly taken ill, who looks after the person who depends on me?

In some areas there is a scheme built for exactly that moment. Carers UK describes emergency card schemes set up for carers, often by the local council or a local carers' centre. They go by different names, including carer card scheme, carers emergency card and emergency care scheme.

How the schemes usually work

Carers UK describes the usual pattern like this:

1. You register and, with help from a skilled worker, draw up an emergency plan for the person you care for.
2. The scheme keeps the plan and runs a 24-hour response service.
3. You carry a card with the scheme's phone number and your own identification number.
4. If something happens, you or someone with you rings the scheme. An operator looks up your plan and arranges replacement care. That could mean contacting your friends or family, or putting professional help in place.

Carers UK adds that in some areas these schemes are linked with the police, fire and ambulance services.

Three examples of real schemes

Every area does this a little differently. These are examples, not a full list, and details can change, so always check with your own council.

• Essex. Essex County Council's carers emergency plan is free and available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. The card shows a phone number for the council's Emergency Duty team and a personal identification number unique to you, and no other personal information. You can name up to three emergency contacts, who must agree to step in. In an emergency the council rings them. If you have no contacts, or they are unavailable, the council arranges short-term care.
• North Yorkshire. The local carers' organisation Carers' Resource describes a free card for anyone over 18 who cares for someone living in North Yorkshire. It shows only your ID number and a 24-hour phone number. You can name up to three contacts, with their consent. You can also register with no contacts at all, and the council will act on your behalf. The card is not active until it has been registered.
• Medway. Medway's card works more simply. It is a free key fob and a credit-card-sized card, provided by Carers First. You write on it the number of the person to contact in an emergency, and Medway Adult Social Care's number is on it too, in case that person cannot be reached. Medway Council points people to Kent County Council's website to apply.

How to get one

• Ask locally. Carers UK's advice is to check with your local carers' organisation to see if a scheme runs in your area. Your council's website is the other place to look, under carers or adult social care.
• Search for more than one name. Because schemes are called different things, try "carers emergency card", "carers emergency plan" and "carer card scheme" alongside your council's name.
• Ask your contacts first. Essex and North Yorkshire both say the people you name must agree beforehand. It is a kind conversation to have early, not in a crisis.
• Check who it covers. Rules differ. In North Yorkshire, for example, what matters is that the person you care for lives there.

What the card does not do

• It is not 999. Carers UK is clear: in an emergency, do not hesitate to call 999. The card is about care for the person you look after, not about getting help to you.
• It only works if someone finds it and rings. The scheme is set in motion when you, or someone with you, calls the number. Essex asks carers to keep the card with them at all times.
• It does not carry the plan. Many cards show only a number and an ID. The details sit with the scheme, so keep a copy of the plan at home as well.
• It is not for planned absences. Essex says its service is not for planned appointments, such as a hospital, GP or hairdresser appointment.
• Replacement care may not be free. Bristol City Council says its card is free, but if the council arranges care while you cannot provide it, the person receiving care may have to pay a contribution after a financial assessment. Carers First suggests setting aside some money just in case.
• It is not available everywhere. Carers UK and Carers First both say whether there is a scheme depends on where you live.
• It does not answer your phone. The card is for the moment you cannot care. It plays no part when the day centre or GP surgery rings you about the person you care for and you cannot pick up.

Making a plan, card or no card

A card is only as good as the plan behind it, and a plan is worth making even if there is no scheme where you live. Carers UK advises every carer to make an emergency plan, for themselves and for everyone they look after. It suggests including:

• the name, address and contact details of the person you look after
• who you would both like contacted in an emergency, such as friends, family or professionals
• their medication, where it is kept, and any ongoing treatment
• any allergies
• their GP and pharmacy
• any care and support services they already receive
• any continence products, and who supplies them
• any mobility needs and aids, such as a wheelchair or hoist
• anything about their behaviour that others need to know

Oxford Health NHS Foundation Trust adds a useful line: how long the person can safely be left alone. Carers UK also has an interactive online tool, MyBackUp, that guides you through making a plan.

Then put the plan where it will be used. If you can, talk it through with the person you care for and with the people you want to name. Give copies to them, and to trusted family, friends and health professionals. Carers First suggests leaving a copy in the person's home in an obvious place, such as on the fridge, by the phone or with their medication, and telling anyone stepping in where to find it. Carers UK suggests a note in your diary or calendar to review the plan from time to time, so it stays up to date.

Carers UK also suggests packing a single hospital bag for the person you look after, with their emergency contact and a list of their medication, including the dose and how often they take it.

Free steps that help straight away

• Tell the GP you are a carer. Carers First says this matters, because if you are taken suddenly ill, the surgery will know that someone vulnerable may be at risk.
• Sort out keys. Carers First suggests giving the people in your plan a spare key, or fitting a key safe.
• Put emergency information on your phone's lock screen. On an iPhone, Medical ID in the Health app holds details such as allergies, conditions and emergency contacts. Apple says it helps emergency responders reach that information from the Lock Screen if you turn on Show When Locked. Some Android phones have a Personal Safety app where you can add medical information and emergency contacts and choose to show them when the phone is locked. Google points out that anyone who picks up your phone can then see that information. Menus vary between phones and versions.
• Save ICE contacts. Carers First suggests that if your phone has no password or PIN, you save emergency contacts in your address book under "ICE", short for In Case of Emergency, numbered ICE1, ICE2 and so on if you have more than one. If your phone is locked, the lock screen features above are the ones a stranger can reach.
• Consider Message in a Bottle. Set up by Lions Clubs International British Isles, it is a form for allergies, health conditions, medication and emergency contacts, kept in a small bottle with a green cross on it in the fridge, where the emergency services know to look. Green cross stickers inside the home point to it. Gwynedd Council, for example, gives them out free. It may be worth one for the person you care for.
• Know your council's out-of-hours team. Carers UK says that when your council's normal office is closed, there will be an emergency duty team you can contact. Searching online for "emergency duty team" and your council's name will find it.
• Talk to your council before you need to. If there is nobody in your family, friends or neighbours who could step in, Carers First suggests asking your local authority whether it can provide emergency care through a rapid response service. Carers UK says it can be reassuring to involve your council in case informal arrangements fall through.
• Ask for a carer's assessment. The NHS says a carer's assessment is free, anyone over 18 can ask for one, and it looks at what might make your life easier.

Where MyCirCall fits

A carers' emergency card is for the moment you cannot care. MyCirCall is for a different moment: an important call about the person you care for that you cannot take. You give your MyCirCall Number, a UK mobile number, to the day centre or GP surgery, and when they ring it, your mobile and the phones of the small circle of people you trust ring at the same time, so someone who can step in has a chance to answer. It works alongside your emergency card and your plan, never instead of them.

MyCirCall is not an emergency service. In an emergency, always call 999 or 112.

Sources

• Carers UK, Planning for emergencies
• Carers UK, Creating a contingency plan
• Essex County Council, Carers emergency plan
• Essex County Council, How a carers emergency plan works
• Carers' Resource, Emergency planning (North Yorkshire Carer's Emergency Card)
• Medway Council, Medway Carers' Emergency Card
• Medway Council, Planning for emergencies
• Bristol City Council, Plan for a care emergency
• Carers First, Planning for emergencies as a carer
• Oxford Health NHS Foundation Trust, Caring for our carers: emergency plan
• NHS, Carer's assessment (page last reviewed 1 July 2022)
• Gwynedd Council, 'Message in a Bottle' scheme available to Gwynedd residents (19 June 2026)
• Apple Support, Set up your Medical ID in the Health app on your iPhone
• Google Android Help, Get help during an emergency with your Android phone

Sources checked on 17 October 2026. Schemes differ from area to area and change, so check with your council or local carers' centre.