Caring - Paid & Unpaid

Question 1

What is caring?

Answer 1

Displaying kindness and concern for others OR the work/practice of looking after those unable to care for themselves

Question 2

What types of caring exist?

Answer 2

Unpaid or paid
Non-contractual/contractual
Private or public

Question 3

What are paid carers i.e. social care workers?

Answer 3

Include staff who work with people in residential care homes, in day centres and who provide personal care in someone’s home

Question 4

What are unpaid carers?

Answer 4

Carers who provide unpaid care by looking after an ill, frail or disabled family member, friend or partner

Question 5

What are sandwich carers?

Answer 5

Carers that care for an older and younger member of their family e.g. their child and mother/father

Question 6

Who are adult carers?

Answer 6

10% of adults (3/5 people will be carers at some point in life): 50-59 is peak age but there is an increasing number over 65 years - more commonly females than males

Question 7

Why is ethnicity important in terms of unpaid care?

Answer 7

Smaller proportion of black and minority ethnic population than white population provide unpaid care but if age controlled for, more likely to be providing care but less likely to identify as carers partly due to lack of knowledge of caring role but they have less access to financial + practical services and report a lack of culturally appropriate services

Question 8

Why is unpaid caring important in terms of Lesbian Gay Bisexual Transgender (LGBT)?

Answer 8

There is no official date but it is estimated that 400,000 LGBT carers in the UK

Question 9

What is predicted to be the future for unpaid caring?

Answer 9

Projected to increase about 10 million in the next 30 years

Question 10

There is a considerable ___ of carers in each year.

Answer 10

Turnover

Question 11

What are the conditions that carers tend to deal with?

Answer 11

Related to carers age/place in lifecourse but in order of increasing commonality:

• Dementia
• Mental health condition
• Older age group that are frail
• Physical disability

Question 12

Who are carers caring for?

Answer 12

In order of decreasing commonality:

• Parent
• Spouse/partner
• Child
• Friend/neighbour
• Parent-in-laws
• Other relatives
• Grand-parent
• Other

Question 13

What do carers tend to do?

Answer 13

In order of decreasing commonality:

• Offer practical help
• Keep an eye on person cared for
• Keep person cared for company
• Taking person cared for out
• Help with other paperwork or financial matters
• Help deal with care services and benefits
• Personal care
• Physical help
• Giving medicines
• Other

Question 14

What is the economic value of carers?

Answer 14

Estimated care worth £57-100 billion per year which is comparable to the total spending on the NHS - NHS + social services rely on carer’s willingness to care

Question 15

What is the common experience of caring?

Answer 15

Willingly accepted by many carers but many may not identify as a carer even if they are carrying out caring roles so may be missing out on support - important for Drs to identify if someone is a carer

Question 16

What are the possible advantages to using the term ‘carer?

Answer 16

1. Identify need for services
2. Recognition of work and contribution of carers
3. Sense of identity - more likely to attend support groups etc.

Question 17

What are the possible disadvantages to using the term ‘carer?

Answer 17

1. Only seen in terms of being a carer - may prefer to define themselves as a son, wife, mother etc.
2. Lock people into role they do not want
3. Undermines person being cared for

Question 18

What are the impacts of caring?

Answer 18

1. Financial
2. Work
3. Relationships + social exclusion
4. Health
5. Education (young carers)

Question 19

How does caring impact finances and work?

Answer 19

Lower incomes but higher costs for laundry, heating bills etc. so most struggle to make ends meet, cut back on essentials or even give up their job to care for someone

Question 20

How does caring impact relationships and cause social exclusion?

Answer 20

Difficult to access holidays, leisure pursuits and other social activities as well as maintenance of relationships and social networks as they may get few or no breaks from caring responsibilities as individuals cared for by relatives are less likely to receive services whilst black and ethnic minority carers are less likely to receive practical support

Question 21

How does caring impact upon health?

Answer 21

May have poorer mental and physical health than non-carers due to lack of time to care for own health and also, manual handling injuries

Question 22

What financial support is there for carers?

Answer 22

• Carers allowance (£64) if caring for at least 35 hours a week for someone on a qualifying disability benefit and not earning more than £120 per week
• Carer premium payable with means-tested benefits

Question 23

What is the carers assessment?

Answer 23

A care bill that gives local authorities a responsibility to assess a adult carer’s own needs for support but does not have the responsibility of providing the support

Question 24

What are young carers?

Answer 24

Child or young person between the ages of 5-18 years (average = 12yrs) providing care to parent, sibling or other relative

Question 25

What is the impact of caring on young people?

Answer 25

Absence from school
Lower educational attainment
Behavioural problems/bullying
Social exclusion/isolation
Stress
Physical health problems
Traumatic life changes
Poverty
Lack support and benefits

Question 26

What support is there for young carers?

Answer 26

Social services have a legal entitlement to carry out a young carer’s needs assessment

Schools

Young carers project

Question 27

What is the main role of the young carers project?

Answer 27

Opportunities for young carers to take a break from their caring responsibilities + spend time with other young carers to share experiences

Question 28

What services does the young carers project supply?

Answer 28

• Support young carers to use local services e.g. sport clubs, support groups + health centres
• Provide advice + emotional support through counselling + drop-in sessions
• Liase with schools so teachers can better support students
• Provide opportunities for young carers to learn more about their parents illness or disability

Question 29

What is the most important thing that should be done for young carers?

Answer 29

Help the family to find the support they need and are entitled to from local services so that a child’s caring responsibilities can be reduced

Question 30

What should doctors do?

Answer 30

1. Identify whether someone is a carer when discussing health
2. Provide responsive healthcare for carer and caree
3. Consider carer when planning care of patient + discharge planning
4. Give early info about rights + entitlements
5. Signpost carers to services

Question 31

How should carers be involved in the discharge of the patient they are caring for?

Answer 31

At all stages of discharge planning, carers should be involved and can have an assessment prior to discharge as well as the patient so family/friends have a choice whether to take on caring - use Carers Passport if available

Question 32

When should discharge planning begin?

Answer 32

As soon as the patient comes into hospital

Question 33

What wider support is available for carers?

Answer 33

Better access to social care and social security benefits for carer and person cared for

Carer-friendly employment policies

Increased awareness of and services for black/minority groups and child carers