Author Archives: wendy
How Norfolk’s hidden carers are missing out on help
kim.briscoe@archant.co.uk
Thursday, June 12, 2014
8:44 AM
Carer John Cook and his wife Maureen who has dementia. Photo by Simon Finlay.
Jack Diplock-Cass is the Young Carers Champion at Great Yarmouth College. He helps look after his two brothers.
One in nine people in Norfolk is thought to be a carer, but many fail to recognise themselves as such and are missing out on vital help.
Young carer Jack Diplock-Cass
Jack Diplock-Cass didn’t realise he was a young carer until last year.
The 18-year-old helps his mum look after his brothers Sean, 17, who has deficits in attention, motor control and perception, and Colby, 10, who has autism.
While Jack, who lives near Northgate Street in Great Yarmouth, had done his best to cope, the strain took its toll on his social life, schoolwork and his health.
Five top tips for family carers revealed
Which? Elderly Care guide launched for Carers Week
10 June 2014
To support Carers Week, Which? Elderly Care published a new online guide to help family carers.
Our research shows that around 800,000 older people receive care in the UK at any one time and that about 80% of this is organised by family members – the carers who are the hidden backbone of the care system. To help carers plan their time, here are five top tips from our new online guide.
Carers Week 2014: Why Britain’s 6.5 million carers need more support
Napoleon famously said Britain was a nation of shopkeepers, but we are quickly becoming a country of carers.
One in eight adults are now carers, looking after a friend or family member who is facing illness, disability or frailty. That means 6.5m people are offering unpaid care to a loved one, often round-the-clock, usually to the detriment of their personal and working lives and sometimes to the detriment of their own health. Unfortunately, campaigners say carers are not getting the support they need to keep looking after the people they love.
