CARERS are being urged to register with a new lifeline service to ensure help is on hand in an emergency.

There are up to 56,000 unpaid carers in North Yorkshire and the County Council is now offering them the chance to register for a new updated carers emergency card.

The scheme provides 24-hour emergency cover through an online service which will ensure if anything happens to them while they are out or are suddenly taken ill at home, the council will get in touch with their emergency contact or take appropriate action to help.

Anyone over 18 who cares for someone in North Yorkshire can apply for a card. The size of a credit card, it carries a contact number for the service, so the details of the carer can be kept confidential. The authority says the card scheme is simple and easy to use and has already been successful in ensuring help is available when it is needed.

The card and the service are free.

Andrea Hobbs, chief executive of Hambleton and Richmondshire Carers, a charity and provider offering help and support, says it is an invaluable service which updates existing cover.

She added: “We would really urge people to register for this.

"The biggest benefit is it gives carers the confidence to go out and take some time for themselves, to go shopping, or to the hairdressers, just to take a break and if anything happens then there is that support there.

“It may be that people will carry it for years without using it, but then they know that if something happens there will be help for the person they are caring for. It’s just like a comfort blanket.”

Carers need the agreement of anyone they register with the service, cards can be obtained from local libraries or Carers Resource Centres, and information can be put in online.

Northallerton and Richmondshire Carers Centre which is based in Northallerton can also help, contact 01609 780872 or email info@hrcarers.org.uk.

Ms Hobbs added: "The idea of emergency cards has been around for sometime, but this brings it into the 21st century, the service is available round the clock so there should always be someone to help."