Category Archives: Carers

Mp supporting carers in Hartlepool where they teach carers about the internet

June 20, 2013   Carers, carersweek, internet

MP WRITES: Caring for the carers

IT instructor Ronald Welsh teaches carers Denise Morrison (left) and Maureen Beveridge
LAST week was Carers Week. Ever since I became an MP, I have wanted to support Carers Week and highlight the magnificent – and very often unsung work that umpteen people do for their friends and family. It is estimated that one in ten people living in this country – that’s a total of six million people – are carers.

The work that they do in helping a loved one, work that might otherwise be the responsibility of social care or the NHS, is estimated to save this country £112 billion each and every year. That is more than the annual spend on the National Health Service.

Hartlepool is a particularly special case. A big part of the Hartlepool character is to care for your loved ones.

It is just seen as being a good daughter or grandson or neighbour.

It is also the Hartlepool way that people who do this, providing a huge range of care from popping in for a cup of tea or getting somebody the paper to, let’s be frank, dealing with very personal hygiene matters, don’t want special treatment or being singled out.

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20% of people in the UK face mental illness

June 20, 2013   Carers, Depression, mental health

ONE in five Britons has faced anxiety and depression, with women reporting it more than men and the worst-afflicted age group being 50-54.

This snapshot into the nation’s sense of wellbeing comes in figures released yesterday by the Office for National Statistics.In a survey of 40,000 households, 19 per cent, reported struggling with the mental health conditions.The divorced or separated were more likely to suffer, with 27 per cent having symptoms compared with 20 per cent of those who were single, cohabiting or widowed and 16 per cent of those who were married or in a civil partnership.

Carers looking after elderly or sick loved ones were also vulnerable.
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Carers putting themselves at risk over respite concerns, warns Vitalise

June 20, 2013   Carers, disability

Disability charity Vitalise urges social care decision makers to take respite provision seriously

Carers’ concern about the quality of respite care is preventing them from taking up opportunities for respite breaks and putting their own health at risk, a study by national disability charity Vitalise has revealed.

In response to this week’s Carers Week survey, which highlights the financial, physical and emotional stresses faced by carers, Vitalise’s study has revealed the additional barriers that are preventing carers from accessing desperately-needed respite breaks for themselves and their loved ones.

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