Carers and caring

Question 1

What is the definition of caring?

Answer 1

• 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

Question 2

Who are carers?

Answer 2

• 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.

Question 3

What are the statistics around caring in the UK?

Answer 3

• 6.5 million carers –> 10% of adult population!
• 58% female, 42% male
• 50-59 peak age
• Increasing number are over 65 years

Question 4

What are the statistics around caring and ethnicity?

Answer 4

• 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

Question 5

What are the stats of LGBT carers?

Answer 5

• no official data but estimated 400,000 LGBT carers in UK

Question 6

What are the statistics on caring in the future?

Answer 6

• Projected that over the next 30 years increase to 10 mill carers
• 3/ 5 people will be carers at some point in their lives

Question 7

LO: Main kinds of support that unpaid carers provide

What are the carers caring for?

Answer 7

• Mental health conditions (13%)
• dementia (10%)
• physical disability (58%)
• older age grops and frail (14%)

Question 8

Who are carers caring for?

Answer 8

• 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

Question 9

LO: Main kinds of support that unpaid carers provide

What do carers do?

Answer 9

• 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

Question 10

What are the financial implications of caring?

Answer 10

• Estimated care worth of £57-100 BILLION per YEAR –> comparabel to total spending on the NHS!

Question 11

Why might someone not identify as a carer?

Answer 11

• 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

Question 12

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?

Answer 12

• 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

Question 13

What are the overarching impacts of caring?

Answer 13

• Financial
• Work
• relationships and social exclusion
• health
• education (young carers)

Question 14

What are the impacts of caring on work and finances?

Answer 14

• 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

Question 15

What are the effects of caring on relationships and social exclusion?

Answer 15

• 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

Question 16

What are the impacts of caring on health?

Answer 16

• May have poorer mental and physical health than non carers (72% reported mental health poorer and 61% physical ill health as a result).
• Evidence that caring for a child with limiting long term illness/ disability increases risk of parent developing LLTI/disability
• Injuries due to manual handling and lack of time to care for own health

Question 17

What financial support is available to carers?

Answer 17

• Financial support –> carers allowance of £64/ week if caring for at least 35 hours for a patient on disability allowance and not earning more than £120/ week
• Carer premium payable with a means tested benefits
• Carer’s assessment: Care act (2014) gives local authorities a resonsibility to assess an adult carer’s own needs for support

Question 18

What are the stats on young carers?

Answer 18

• 166,000 between ages 5-18years (12 average age)
• BME x1.5 likely to be carers
• 13,000 give 50+ hours of care p/week
• Child/ Young Person care to: Parent, Sibling, Relative

Question 19

What are the impacts of caring on young people?

Answer 19

• Absence from school
• lower educational attainment
• behavioural problems and bullying
• social exclsuions and isolation
• stress
• physical health problems
• traumatic life changes
• poverty
• lack of support and benefits

Question 20

What support is there for young people?

Answer 20

• Social services –> legal entitlements
• Since April 2015 social worker from local authority must visit to carry out a young carer’s needs assessment
• School
• young carers projects

Question 21

What is the young carers project?

Answer 21

• Young carers project provides:
  
  • Most importantly helps family find support they need and are entitled to from lcal services to reduce childs caring responsibilites
    
    • Opportunities for young carers to take a break from their caring, spend time with other carers and share experiences
• May also:
  
  • Support young carers to use local services e.g. sports clubs/ support groups/ health centres
  • provide advice and emotional support through counselling and drop in sessions
  • Liasing with schools so teachers can better support students
  • Provide opportunities for young carers to learn more about their parents illness or disability

Question 22

What is the role of Drs in supporting carers?

Answer 22

• Identify whether someone has caring responsibilites when discussing their helath
• provide responsive health care for carer and person cared for
• Consider the carer when planning patient care and discharge, involve carer n all stages
• carer and patient have assessment prior to discharge
• families/ friends have choice on whether to take on caring
• Give early info about rights and entitlements
• Signposting carers to services

Question 23

What are some key ways of improving health and wellbeing of carers?

Answer 23

• Better access to social care
• better social security benefits for carer and person cared for
• Carer friendly employment policies
• increased awareness of services for:
  
  • BME groups
  • Child carers