Youngest carer in Gloucestershire is only 4 years old!
Youngest carer in county is four years old – public debate hears
WHILE some children think only of playing and fun, others have a different life and are burdened with caring for families, sometimes even helping feed and wash.
And the youngest carer in the county is just four years old.
Although it is not known the particulars of this child’s reality, the news rocked an audience when county health boss Jan Stubbings made the startling revelation at The Gloucestershire Health Debate on Thursday.
Support
Speaking as part of a panel of experts being quizzed about whether support for carers will improve in the light of proposed health reforms, the chief executive of NHS Gloucestershire said: “We have got 20,000 young carers and the youngest carer in this county is four-years-old, caring for somebody else.”
Gloucestershire Young Carers yesterday said it did not know of this particular individual but told The Citizen there were hundreds of young carers of a very young age in the county who were not known to organisations and agencies.
Ele Semadeni, operations lead for the charity, said: “We are working with more than 500 young carers at present who benefit from vital support. We will always be facing the fact that we are not supporting all young carers.”
The organisation helps carers aged from eight up to 25.
This support comes mainly in the form of weekly groups which, as they are not subject to Ofsted inspections, can only cater for children as young as eight.
Last year the charity secured funding from the Government to employ a family advocate who would oversee support for what the charity terms ‘high vulnerability’ young carers – this included those aged five to seven.
The organisation is aware there are hundreds of young carers in the community who are neither identified nor receiving support.
Ele added: “Young carers are children who are experiencing the impact of someone in their family being long-term ill, disabled, experiencing mental ill health or substance misuse. “It could be a mother with mental ill health or a physically disabled dad, the effects on a child can be varied.”
