Summary
6.5m people identified themselves as carers in the last Census; this is roughly one in eight adults in the UK. The unpaid carer population is expected to grow to 9m over the next 20 years.
Reference
Triggle, N. (2014). The hidden army of carers. London: BBC Health News, June 10th 2014.
Brief statistics now appear on the Carers UK website. Possibly also of interest is the recent survey:
Reference
The state of caring 2014. London: Carers UK, May 2014.
A message to NHS staff from the Secretary of State for Health timed to coincide with Carers Week:
Reference
Jeremy Hunt: Message to NHS staff during Carers Week 2014: the Secretary of State pays tribute to all carers across the country, including NHS staff. London: Department of Health, June 12th 2014.
I spent almost ten years looking after my mum. I gave up work and survived on a carers allowance and my savings. I had a retrospective review and obtained the funding back. But now I am on a pension I do not have any savings so am on pension credit. So perhaps it would be better if all care was a three way payment for the elderly with complex needs i.e. social services pension and the NHS all contributing something, and stop privately owned care homes only interested in profit making. Maybe then there would be more care and compassion in nursing and care for the older generation. Lets face it this is the one thing we all have in common getting older. The younger generation are going to one day need care themselves will they be prepared to receive the same treatment which today seems the ‘norm’ Not everyone is lucky enough to be placed in the wealthy bracket. Also the last thing anyone wants is to go into care, but some people have no choice, so it is vitally important to ensure there is compassion in care.