Smartphone apps can help carers in all sorts of ways, there are medical apps, supportive apps, lifestyle apps and more to make your life a little bit easier. There are literally thousands of apps available to carers, so to help you choose between them, we’ve picked out eight that you might find useful.
All these apps can be downloaded from the Apple App Store or Google Play Store
Apps to help you in your caring role
My GP
This is a free app developed by the NHS to help patients and their carers manage medication and GP and hospital visits. The app also makes it easier to organise caring, as you can add children and elderly relatives to the app and arrange their appointments and prescriptions.
Jointly
This was developed by the national charity, Carers UK. It was designed by carers for carers and combines group messaging with other useful features including to-do and medication lists. Jointly works by creating a circle of care for the person or people you are looking after. You can use it on your own or invite other people to join and share the care. Jointly works on all devices and is available from app stores or directly from the website, with a one-off joining fee of £2.99.
Freestyle Libre
This app allows people with Diabetes to monitor their blood sugar levels. As well as offering a quick and useful way for people to monitor their blood sugar levels it has a function called Connect to allow carers to remotely monitor the blood sugar levels of someone they’re caring for. This can aid peace of mind for the caregiver and the person being cared for, allowing greater independence for you both. This is especially handy if you’re caring for a child with Diabetes or an elderly relative.
My House of Memories
This app is made for carers of people with dementia. Using pictures of objects from the past, it’s a way of exploring memories and can be a great comfort to carer and cared-for alike.
Medisafe
Medisafe helps keep track of medications and sends reminders when it’s time to take them. It offers peace of mind to you and whoever you’re caring for.
Voice Analyst
This is an app developed for people with Parkinson’s Disease, whose speech is affected by the condition. It helps them to make themselves better understood and so aids communication with carers, family members, friends and clinicians. It has been recommended by the charity Parkinson’s UK.
Recipe Keeper
Planning meals and remembering recipes when you’re caring for someone can be very time-consuming. This app helps you store all your recipes and also plan meals that suit all the family, taking into account any special dietary needs. It’s also a place to keep shopping lists so you don’t have to write them out each time you go to the supermarket.
Carers UK forum
While this is not yet available as an app, this forum for carers can be accessed on your phone, tablet, or PC. The forum is a community of people in a similar position to you and who may well know exactly how you feel and what issues you’re facing. Many carers feel isolated so sharing experiences and problems can be hugely helpful.
If you are a carer for someone with a disability, you might be eligible to join the Motability Scheme on their behalf as an appointee. You can find out more about joining the Scheme as a carer on the carers and appointees section of the website.
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