Carers Week is a consortium of eight national charities, they are: Age UK, Carers Trust, Carers UK, Independent Age, Macmillan Cancer Support, Marie Curie Cancer Care, MS Society and Parkinson’s UK. http://carersweek.org/
Here are some facts about carers from the 2001 Census:
• 10 per cent of the total population are carers which is nearly six million people in the UK.
• There are 1.9 million people caring for more than 20 hours per week and 1.25 million care for more than 50 hours per week.
• Women are more likely to be carers than men. There are 3.4 million female carers (58 per cent of carers) and nearly 2.5 million male carers (42 per cent).
• Most carers (5.7 million) are aged over 18 and the peak age for caring is 50 to 59.
• More than one in five people aged 50-59 (1.5 million across the UK) are providing some unpaid care.
• There are 174,995 young people under the age of 18 who provide care, 13,029 of these provide care for 50 hours or more per week.
• There are three million people combine work with caring responsibilities for a disabled, ill or frail relative or friend. This is roughly one in eight workers in the UK.
As part of Carers Week a survey was sent out to 3,400 carers and this survey shows that being a Carer places huge strains on a person’s own health and wellbeing with two in five unpaid carers sacrificing their own health by putting off medical treatment to fulfil their caring duties. The survey also showed a negative impact on 83 per cent of carers’ physical health with 8 in 10 saying their responsibilities had caused them health problems, including everything from back pain to insomnia. A further 87 per cent said caring for a family member or friend has had a negative impact on their mental health. 64 per cent carers blamed their poor health on a lack of practical support and 50 per cent on not enough financial support.
These figures show that carers are being badly let down by the level of support they are getting. Social care and the NHS just aren’t meeting their needs. The numbers of elderly and younger adults getting help from councils has fallen in recent years and it is these unpaid carers that are left picking up the slack. Carers Week manager Helen Clarke said: "It's a scandal that carers can't get the time or support they need to look after themselves which could be jeopardising their health as a result. "Carers are feeling the strain of a woefully underfunded system and still we're seeing more cuts. "Unpaid carers save the Government a fortune - £119 billion a year - yet they're let down in return. It is time for urgent action to tackle the crisis in social care." Sarah Pickup, president of the Association of Directors of Adult Social Services, said: "It could not be clearer that there is a desperate need for politicians from all parties to quickly find an answer to how we, as a nation, are going to adequately fund social care services in the future."
There are some agencies that offer help to carers these include carers groups, local organisations and charities. The Carers Week partners also offer a range of services for carers including carers’ centres, online discussion forums and advice and information service. For more information see; http://carersweek.org/about-us/national-partners
For practical support to help with caring whether this is equipment, short term respite, or a more substantial break in residential care a person needs a Carers assessment. Carer’s assessments are a way of identifying the carer’s needs. They look at their role as a carer: how being a carer affects them, how much caring they can realistically do (while still allowing them to be involved in other activities outside caring), and any help they need. To find out about a Carer’s assessment you can go through the local council or carer organisation or try: http://www.nhs.uk/CarersDirect/guide/assessments/Pages/Carersassessments.aspx
For Help in finding out what financial help the carer or the person being looked after is entited to then you can either go through a charity such as Carers UK and Age UK who can give you a ‘benefits check’ or you can go to http://www.direct.gov.uk/en/MoneyTaxAndBenefits/index.htm
Looking at the statistics it is clear that at some point in our lives most of us will be affected by the issues surrounding being a carer and social care. We can only hope that the government place enough emphasis on this area so that they instigate sweeping reforms on the way in which this area is funded.
This might then allow carers to recieve the support they need to stay healthy and capable of continuing this vital role.
