Caring for carers

By Dr. Ananya Mandal, MDMay 8 2012

According to a new poll, there are hundreds of thousands of unpaid carers in Scotland who are suffering from mental health problems and struggling to keep their jobs.

The results of the poll by the Princess Royal Trust for Carers show that six out of ten carers have suffered a mental health illness, such as depression, anxiety or stress. The same number  of carers say that their jobs have been adversely affected. The results also highlight how 27 per cent of carers say both their mental and physical health has suffered.

Latest figures show there are 657,000 carers in Scotland, with a fifth of them caring for a relative for more than 50 hours a week. The majority of carers who took part in the poll had been in a caring role for more than five years and reported how they had never sought any help or support. The study also revealed that one in four carers took between one to five years to even realise they were carers. More than half of those carers questioned said they felt they needed a break from their role, felt isolated, or were finding it difficult to cope with their circumstances.

The study shows 64 per cent of carers have never accessed any specialist carer services, such as respite breaks, counselling and advice on how to claim benefits to which they are entitled. Many were unaware of any organisations that could help them and have called for general practitioners and other health professionals to do more to offer advice on where they can turn for support.

Anne Roberts, chief executive of the trust, said, “Our survey shows many unpaid carers have never accessed any support services and how many simply don’t have any awareness of the kind of help that is out there and what a huge difference it could make to their lives.” She said the poll had been published to encourage more carers to seek information, advice and practical support and to encourage people to recognize and value carers, most of whom were unpaid.

Dame Judi Dench, a supporter of the trust, said, “Many carers are unaware of the support available to them and continue looking after their family or friends without any help and often at a cost to their own health and well-being.”

The main state benefit some carers can claim is carer’s allowance. It is only given to people who regularly spend at least 35 hours a week caring for someone with a severe disability. The average carer in Scotland receives £55.55 a week in carer’s allowance. The trust says more than half of carers entitled to the allowance failed to claim it, with many not even realising they are entitled to the cash. Other statistics from the trust showed that one in five carers admits to being in debt.

Carers across UK, who look after family members or friends who are ill, frail or disabled, or who have mental health or addiction problems are estimated to save the government £87 billion a year. They save the taxpayer as much as £119 billion a year. There are approximately six million carers across the UK, according to the Princess Royal Trust for Carers.

Shadow Health Minister, Andy Burnham, called for minimum national standards and ring-fenced budgets for carer support in order to avoid a “bedevilling” postcode lottery.

David Cameron has spoken out about the value of carers and the need to better protect their well-being. By 2037, the number of carers is expected to rise to nine million as a result of an aging population, better survival rates from medical conditions and a reduction in public funding for social care. Mr Burnham, who is involved in cross-party talks trying to reach a consensus on how to deal with Britain's “care crisis”, said, “If carers can't cope, it ends up costing us more, so it doesn't make economic sense to drive carers into the ground – never mind that it's wrong morally. Localism often means a postcode lottery and carers' issues often fall between cracks. I believe that sometimes you need ring-fenced funding to drive through change, otherwise things don't change and families are left struggling.”

Emily Holzhausen, director of policy at Carers UK, said, “We are seeing very worrying signs about the impact of local authority cuts and tightening of eligibility criteria.” A Department of Health spokesperson said, “We are working with ... interested parties to create a sustainable system that ensures people and their carers get the quality care they want.”