Carers and caring Flashcards
What is the definition of caring?
- Displaying kindness and concern for others
- the work or practise of looking after those unable to care for themselves
- Can be:
- paid or unapid
- non contractual or contractual
- private or public
Who are carers?
- Paid carers include staff who work with people in residential care homes, in day centres and who provide personal care in someones home.
- Unpaid carers provide care by looking after an ill, frail or disabled family member, friend or partner.
What are the statistics around caring in the UK?
- 6.5 million carers –> 10% of adult population!
- 58% female, 42% male
- 50-59 peak age
- Increasing number are over 65 years
What are the statistics around caring and ethnicity?
- Evidence that there are a smaller proportion of black and ethnic minority population that white providing unpaid care
- BUT if age is controlled for, they are more likely to be providing care
- Less likely to identify as carers
- B % EM more likely than white carers to be caring
- have less access to financial and practical services
- report lack of culturally app. services
What are the stats of LGBT carers?
- no official data but estimated 400,000 LGBT carers in UK
What are the statistics on caring in the future?
- Projected that over the next 30 years increase to 10 mill carers
- 3/ 5 people will be carers at some point in their lives
LO: Main kinds of support that unpaid carers provide
What are the carers caring for?
- Mental health conditions (13%)
- dementia (10%)
- physical disability (58%)
- older age grops and frail (14%)
Who are carers caring for?
- In third of cases for a parent
- 20% cases for spouse/ partner
- 13% cases for a child
- Then friends/ neighbours/ parents in law/ other relatives/ grandparent
LO: Main kinds of support that unpaid carers provide
What do carers do?
- Practical help
- Keeping an eye on the person cared for and keeping them company
- Taking cared person for outings
- helping with paperwork/ financial matters
- Dealing with care services and benefits
- personal care
- Physical help
- Medicines
What are the financial implications of caring?
- Estimated care worth of £57-100 BILLION per YEAR –> comparabel to total spending on the NHS!
Why might someone not identify as a carer?
- The care role/ experience of caring is willingly accepted by many carers
- Therefore carers may not identify as a “carer”, their role is normalised
- They may miss out on support
- Important for us as Drs to identify if someone is providing care
LO: Why some people may not use the term ‘carer’ i.e. advantages and disadvantages of using the term
Why might the term “carer” not be used?
Why might it be used?
- Advantages of “carer” term:
- Identify need and therefore services
- Recognition of work and contribution of carers
- sense of identity –> more likely to attend support groups
- Disadvantages of “carer” term:
- Only seen in terms of being a carer
- locked into a role they did not want
- prefer to define themselves as a son/ daughter/ mother etc
- Undermines person being cared for
What are the overarching impacts of caring?
- Financial
- Work
- relationships and social exclusion
- health
- education (young carers)
What are the impacts of caring on work and finances?
- Lower incomes and higher costs (laundry, heating bills etc)
- Third of carers struggle to make ends meet
- Half report cutting back on esssentials
- Third report having given up a job to care for someone
What are the effects of caring on relationships and social exclusion?
- Difficulty accessing holidays, leisure pursuits and social activities
- May be harder to maintain relationships and social networks
- May get few or no breaks from caring responsibilites
- individuals cared for by relatives are less likely to receive services
- black and minority ethnic carers less likely to receive practical support
