Category Archives: carersweek

Husband urges Norfolk’s ‘hidden’ army of carers to seek support

Les Eve, Carers UK Ambassador for Carers in Norfolk.

A husband who spent almost 30 years caring for his wife, after she was diagnosed with Parkinson’s Disease, has urged the county’s “hidden” unpaid carers to get the support they are entitled to.

Ahead of Carers Week, which starts on Monday, Les Eve said he wanted to get the message out that people looking after loved ones were not alone.

Mr Eve, who set up the Costessey Carers Support Group following his experiences looking after his wife, Shirley, is the Carers UK Ambassador for Carers in Norfolk.

14% of adults permanently offline, despite online benefits

1st June 2015 by

According to a new report by Ofcom, 14% of adults surveyed don’t use the internet at all, despite the benefits that being online can bring.

Despite having never been online, this lack of use isn’t purely born from a lack of interest – in fact 34% of non-users say they see at least one benefit of being online.

Carers Week 2014: Why Britain’s 6.5 million carers need more support

Millions of Britons are unpaid carers (Picture: Carers UK)

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.