A Surrey charity has warned that almost 1,500 unpaid carers are being left without a vital safety net, following the decision to end funded Emergency Care Planning support from 1 April 2026.
Crossroads Care Surrey says the move removes a critical layer of protection for carers and the people they support, increasing the risk of crisis situations and avoidable pressure on NHS and emergency care services.
The Council confirmed the decision in formal correspondence, stating it “no longer requires” the service.
Under the current system, carers create emergency plans that include trusted contacts who can be called upon if they are suddenly unable to provide care. If none of those contacts are available, a co-ordinated emergency response is put in place immediately by the charity to ensure the person they support is not left without care.
Crossroads Care Surrey says it is this final layer of support that is now being lost.
“The system is designed with layers of protection,” said Terry Hawkins, CEO of the charity.
“Family and friends are contacted first but when they can’t help, that’s when a reliable emergency response becomes critical. That’s the part now being removed.”
There are currently almost 1,500 carers holding emergency care plans, who rely on the service as a safeguard should a crisis occur.
“This is preventative support. It’s not supposed to be used every day,” Terry Hawkins added.
“You don’t measure its value by how often it’s used, but by what happens when it’s needed.”
The Council has indicated that emergency support may instead be arranged through “existing processes” or the Emergency Duty Care Team who are currently responsible for taking over any emergency that runs beyond the 48 hours of contracted care provided by Crossroads Care.
However, Crossroads Care Surrey has evidence to show that this Duty Care team failed to respond to 1 in 3 emergency care activations even after having a full 48 hours’ notice, raising serious concerns about reliability, and their ability to provide emergency support within a time that will avoid those cared for, resulting to using emergency services and paramedics. In each case that they failed to respond, they admitted having no resource to cover. This highlights the difference between support existing in principle and support being delivered in practice.
“Pointing to processes or teams is not the same as guaranteeing a response,” Terry Hawkins said.
“In an emergency, carers don’t need signposting, they need someone to step in.”
The charity is also highlighting the lack of clarity around out-of-hours support.
“If a carer is taken ill at 2am on a Sunday, what happens? At the moment, there isn’t a clear answer and that uncertainty puts vulnerable people at risk.”
Without a dependable emergency response, there is a heightened risk that individuals could be left without care, leading to avoidable crises and hospital admissions.
The financial implications are significant. Providing Emergency Care Planning through the existing contract only costs approximately £200 per carer per year for each individual supported, compared to the £1,200+ for a hospital bed admission for one single day.
“This is a false economy. Removing preventative support doesn’t remove risk, it shifts it into more expensive parts of the system and potentially blocking already oversubscribed hospital resources.”
There are also concerns about the suggestion that alternative forms of support, including one-off financial assistance, can replace a coordinated emergency response.
“A one-off payment does not provide care in an emergency. It does not guarantee that someone will be there when a carer is suddenly taken ill.”
Crossroads Care Surrey has launched its own subscription-based alternative to ensure carers are not left without support. However, the charity warns this introduces inequality.
“This risks creating a two-tier system, where only those who can afford to pay will have peace of mind in an emergency.
We have introduced a range of subscription tiers to try and make the service as accessible as possible. However, we recognise that there will still be carers who are unable to afford this, and they risk being left without any safety net at all.”
The charity is calling for urgent clarity and reconsideration of how carers will be adequately supported when emergency situations occur, ensuring that those cared for at home are not unnecessarily taken from their chosen place of care and that emergency services are not called upon as a last resort.
