If you’re due to attend University Hospital, please be aware that roadworks will be taking place on Clifford Bridge Road from Monday 28 July as part of the Binley Cycleway project.

Adjustments are being made to the roundabouts leading to the Tesco superstore and the B4082. This phase will last 10 to 12 weeks.

While full road closures or diversions are not required, it’s possible there may be congestion so please allow extra time for your journeys.

The Customer Service Centre which was located at Broadgate House has been relocated to Central Library, Smithford Way, Coventry as of Wednesday 27 August.

From this date, all Customer Services will be available at Central Library, allowing the public to access our services in one convenient location from 9am. 

Opening hours:

• Customer Service Centre: Monday to Friday, 9am to 5pm (except Tuesdays, 10am to 5pm)
• Central Library: Monday to Friday, 9am to 7pm, Saturday, 9am to 4pm and Sunday, 12pm to 4pm

We look forward to welcoming residents and continuing to provide excellent customer service in a central, accessible space.

The UK government is testing the Emergency Alerts system on Sunday 7 September 2025 at 3pm.

The test will be sent to all compatible 4G and 5G mobile phones and tablets across the UK. You will hear a loud siren-like sound, vibration, and a message will appear on the screen confirming that this is a test. The sound and vibration will last for about 10 seconds. You will not need to take any further action.

Depending on your phone’s features, the alert will work with screen magnification and may read the message out for you having also overridden volume settings. The unique noise emitted by the phone should also be audible for those who use a hearing aid.

The Emergency Alerts system is an important tool for reaching the public in emergency situations. However, if you need to turn off these alerts (including the test), you can use these step-by-step instructions.

About Emergency Alerts

Emergency Alerts will warn you via your mobile or tablet if there's a life-threatening emergency nearby. Only the government and the emergency services are able to send them.

You’ll be able to check that an alert is genuine at gov.uk/alerts. Emergency alerts will be just one of the ways the government communicates with the public about emergency situations. So if you don’t have a mobile phone, don’t worry – you’ll still be made aware through the media and local emergency services.

Find out more at gov.uk/alerts.

University Hospital Coventry and Warwickshire launched a new carer's card on Monday 9 June during Carer's Week. The new carer card helps people who are providing care whilst a loved one is in hospital, enabling additional support whilst a loved one is in hospital, including the provision of drinks, a food voucher, wider visiting provision and a bed if an overnight stay is required.

Alongside this UHCW have launched a new carer's website, which details support within UHCW and wider to help people with caring responsibilities. 

In addition to the resources at UHCW, the Carer's Trust Heart of England are holding regular drop in sessions at the hospital and we have increased support at UHCW.  

Carer's Trust Heart of England hold drop-in sessions for carers every Tuesday, 1pm to 5pm, and Thursday, 9am to 12pm, in the PALS Office located in the main entrance to University Hospital, Coventry.

Come along and meet our Hospital Liaison Wellbeing Advisor's to see what support is available to help you in your caring role. You can book a slot by sending them an email. 

Carer's Trust Heart of England are delighted to announce that we will once again be hosting our annual Carer Awards Ceremony this November.

The Carer Awards is an opportunity for the local community to come together to celebrate the selfless work of not only carers but also the businesses, educational organisations and fundraisers that have gone above and beyond to help support carers and those they care for. Please remember that you can nominate individuals and organisations from both Coventry and Warwickshire.

We are excited to reveal our award categories for this years ceremony; you can take a look on our website for further details and to  submit your nominations. The categories range from Young Carer, Carer of the year, Carer Friendly Employer and Carer Friendly School or College of the Year, amongst others.

The window to nominate closes at 10am on Friday 3 October. We will be confirming date, time and location for the ceremony, shortly.

At Carer's Trust Heart of England we understand that balancing work responsibilities with caring for a loved one can be both rewarding and challenging. As a working carer, your time, energy, and wellbeing are stretched in many directions, and it is important that you feel supported, both in the workplace and beyond.

The Carer's Trust currently run a working carer's support group once a month on a Thursday evening (17:30-18:30) in person at the Central Library in Coventry. Below is a link to a short survey to help us understand what you would value most from such a group: what kind of support, resources, meeting formats, or topics would be most helpful to you. Your responses will help us improve the group so it better reflects your needs, preferences, and availability.

The survey  should take around 5 minutes to complete. We would love to hear from you by Friday 12 September, when the survey closes.

Thank you for taking a few moments to share your thoughts. Your voice matters!

Eligible households to get £150 off energy bills. In England and Wales, this means households in receipt of Housing Benefit, Income-related Employment and Support Allowance, Income-based Jobseeker's Allowance, Income Support, Pension Credit and Universal Credit will now be eligible.

What you need to do:

The Government is now issuing a call to eligible households to check they are named on their electricity bill, with suppliers set to rely on customers’ records as of Sunday 24 August. Bear in mind that someone might not be named on their electricity bill if they have recently moved house and changed supplier.   

Having the eligible person named on the electricity bill will help make sure households receive the £150 discount automatically.  

Many carer's worry about what would happen to the person they care for if they were involved in an emergency situation, suddenly taken ill or prevented from looking after the person they care for.

If you don’t have anyone who can help or you are worried that it may not always be possible for the person you have identified to cover all the care tasks for the person you support, you can register with our Carer's Response Emergency Support Service known as CRESS provided by Carers Trust Heart of England. We can provide up to 72 hours of support whilst other arrangements are put in place.

• Carer's Trust Heart of England host the CRESS service and it is funded by Coventry City Council
• a worker will visit you and the person you care for and develop a contingency support plan to be put in place if you are suddenly unable to care due to an emergency, such as being admitted to hospital.
• we can then provide up to 72 hours of support whilst other arrangements are put in place. You do not have to have a Carer's Assessment to access this service and there is no charge to register or if the service is used

Carer's who have received support via our CRESS service were asked several questions to feedback about the service provided. These were completed via postal and telephone questionnaires. From January to June 2025, 35 carer's across Coventry and Warwickshire responded to the survey, with results showing:

• 91% said the service met the support needs for them and their cared-for.
• 94% with the support in place there were able to maintain their caring role and/or maintain their daily life
• 97% said the service had a positive impact on your health and wellbeing
• 90% gave positive feedback regarding the overall service

Contact the Carers Trust Heart of England on 024 7610 1040 (Option 1).

For more information, please visit the CRESS website. 

Families came together once again for a picnic at Memorial Park – the perfect way to celebrate summer, relax outdoors, enjoy a game of rounders and have quality time together, even if it was wet and windy!

This course aims to raise awareness and understanding of how the caring role can impact on many aspects of your life. The course looks at ways you can look after yourself as well as continuing to support and promote the independence of the person you care for.

Learning outcomes:

• to increase awareness of the roles and responsibilities of being a Carer in the UK and to look at how these roles affect us.
• to consider and develop some techniques for coping and helping ourselves as well as those we care for.  
• to look at your rights as a Carer and places to seek additional support.  

Aimed at:  anyone who is currently caring for a friend or family member and is experiencing increased stress.

Course tutors: staff from Coventry and Warwickshire Partnership NHS Trust and Heart of England Carers Trust.

When: Tuesday 23 September 2025 from 1pm to 3pm online.

Course duration: 2-hour session.