Family carers

“A carer is considered to be anyone who spends time looking after or helping a friend, family member or neighbour who, because of their health and care needs, would find it difficult to cope without this help regardless of age or whether they identify as a carer.“ (Carers Action Plan 2018 – 2020 Supporting carers today, Department of Health and Social Care)

• 3 in 5 people will be carers at some point in their lives – more than 600,000 people in SNEE
• The 2011 Census found that 6.5 million people in the UK were carers and numbers are growing – In 2019, using population projections from the ONS and polling by Carers UK, it was estimated that had risen to 8.8 million adults
• The 2019 GP Patient survey found that 17% of the population in England over the age of 16 are carers

Nearly three in five carers in England and Wales are aged 50 years and over, and one in five people aged 50 to 69 years are informal carers – this is the most common age group for having caring responsibilities

• Carers are more likely to be female – 57.7 % unpaid carers females and 42.3 % males
• Carers are less likely to work than non-carers overall, – this is skewed by men – almost one in four (24%) female workers are also carers, compared with just over one in eight (13%) male workers.
• Male carers are more likely than women to care for a spouse – Over two-thirds of men caring for a spouse are in work
• Carers UK estimate that they contribute £132 billion of unpaid care per year

• The top reasons for why people are cared for by a carer was for a physical disability (54.9%) followed by 40.9% due to a longstanding illness.
• 29.7% of carers (the highest reported percentage) reported feeling ‘quite satisfied’ with the support they or the person they care for has received in the last 12 months.
• 13.6% of carers reported that they were concerned for their personal safety compared to 85.6% who reported no concerns.
• 81.9% of carers reported that they were not able to take a break from caring at short notice or in an emergency as the person they were caring for has not used any support or services.
• 54.3% of carers reported having some social contact with people but not as much as they would like while 20.9% of carers reported feeling that they had ‘little social contact with people and feel socially isolated’.
• When asked, ‘has your health been affected by your caring role in anyway in the last 12 months’, disturbed sleep, feeling tired and a general feeling of stress were reported as the leading reasons for health being affected.
• In terms of the general health profile of carers, 31.8% of carers reported suffering from a long-standing illness, but the majority 39.2% reported none of the above.

• The number of carers over the age of 65 is increasing more rapidly than the general carer population –
• Over 37,000 people aged 65 and over in SNEE are providing unpaid care, over 3,000 of which aged 85 and over
• There are 1.2 million carers aged 65 and over in England
• The number of carers aged 85 and over grew by 128% in just ten years
• Nearly 3 in 5 (59%) carers aged 85 and over are male – Carers over the age of 65 are more likely to be female (52% are female and 48% are male). – the balance shifts as carers get older; 59% of carers aged 85 and over are male.
• Nearly half (45%) of carers aged 75 and over are looking after someone who has dementia
• As carers get older, they are more likely to provide more hours of care
• 6 in 10 (60%) older carers who provide 50 or more hours of care a week say their health is not good, rising to 72% of carers aged 85 and over
• 8 in 10 (81%) carers aged 75 or over say they were looking after a spouse or partner
• Older carers who provide lower levels of care (1 to 19 hours a week) report being in better health than non-carers of the same age – this pattern reverses for older carers providing 20 or more hours of unpaid care a week
• As our population ages, there will be increased need for informal care, but there also a need for older people to stay in the workforce longer – Workers aged in their 50s and early 60s are more likely than any other age group to be juggling caring responsibilities and working. In 2016 to 2017, 65% of men and 60% of women aged 52 to 64 years who were carers were also in work
• Nearly three in five carers in England and Wales are aged 50 years and over, and one in five people aged 50 to 69 years are informal carers – this is the most common age group for having caring responsibilities

• ‘sandwich caring’ or ‘dual caring’ – those who care for both sick, disabled or older relatives and dependent children – and those who fall under this category are usually referred to as ‘the sandwich generation’ – with teenagers and elderly parents with increasing physical and emotional need at the same time and as middle-aged people begin to face ageing issues of their own, the needs of those around them are increasing.
• Sandwich carers are more likely to report symptoms of mental ill-health, feel less satisfied with life, and struggle financially compared with the general population.
• One in four report health problems, relationship troubles and isolation among the difficulties also related to their caring role.
• Six out of ten sandwich carers who spend more than 20 hours providing adult care are out of paid work. They report a lack of leisure time, and 41% who look after a relative within their home say they are unable to work at all, or as much as they would like.
• Carers UK’s research found that trying to find the right care for an older relative was harder and more stressful than finding good quality childcare
• More than 72% of the sandwich generation are aged between 35 and 54 years, while 62% are women- in the general population, 38% are aged 35 to 54 years and 51% are women.

Young carers – definition, a young carer is someone under the age of 18 who looks after a family member or friend who has a physical or mental health condition, or misuses drugs or alcohol. They may also look after brothers, sisters or elderly relatives too – Some people start giving care at a very young age and don’t really realise they’re carers. Other young people become carers overnight.

more than one in five children in England carry out some care for sick and disabled family members – The Children’s Society estimate there are 800,000 young carers aged 5-17 care for an adult or family member in the UK, although research from the University of Nottingham suggests is much higher than had been thought and that over 800,000 secondary school children (aged 11-16 years) in England are having to care for someone at home…with nearly 260,000 having a high level of caring – regularly doing domestic work, household management and emotional care.

Over a quarter of young carer’s (27%) aged 11-15 miss or have difficulties at school due to their caring responsibilities

One in three young carers said that their caring role makes them feel stressed.

Research also shows that 23% of young carers in the UK said that their caring role had stopped them making friends.

Many young carers only recognise themselves as young carers when they reach secondary school that they realise that their home life is different from that of their friends.

To claim Carer’s Allowance the customer has to be aged 16 or over. There are 60 under 18 year olds in Essex and 23 in Suffolk that were entitled to Carer’s Allowance in Q4 of 21/22

• Research shows carers are at increased risk of illness, and specifically musculoskeletal conditions, cardiovascular disease, generalised cognitive deterioration and function, and poor sleep.
• A Public Health England review of GP patient survey data suggests that younger carers, and carers with poor social and financial support, may experience higher ‘carer burden’ when caring for older people.
• carers are 16% more likely than non-carers to live with 2 or more long-term health conditions – Among carers living with 2 or more long-term conditions, arthritis and high blood pressure are the most common conditions.
• There is some evidence that indicates that mental health outcomes may be worse for carers compared to the general population
• Premature death, higher levels of disease and neglect of their own health care needs are known to be common amongst carers
• Impact of being less likely to work than non-carers – personal finances and cost of living
• Impact of social isolation and lack of leisure time on mental and physical wellbeing
• Impact on education, and as a result, future prospects of young carers

Suffolk communities: carers – Healthy Suffolk

State of Caring 2021 report – Carers UK

More than one in four sandwich carers report symptoms of mental ill-health – Office for National Statistics (ons.gov.uk)

Under Pressure: Caring and the cost of living crisis – Carers UK

Policy Briefing – GP Patient Survey 201 – Carers UK

Adult Social Care Analytical Hub – Essex Open Data

Microsoft Power BI

Suffolk Healthy Ageing Needs Assessment (healthysuffolk.org.uk)

Living longer – Office for National Statistics (ons.gov.uk)

Projecting Older People Population Information System (poppi.org.uk)

Full story: The gender gap in unpaid care provision: is there an impact on health and economic position? – Office for National Statistics (ons.gov.uk)

Caring into later life – Carers UK

Caring as a social determinant of health: review of evidence – GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)

Sandwich carers | Action for Carers

Life as a ‘sandwich carer’: ‘The emotions can be a rollercoaster’ (homecare.co.uk)

The sandwich generation is here to stay. Are you feeling the carers crunch? | Chase UK

Assessments_-_England_April_2022-23.pdf (carersuk.org)

Young carers: who are they and why do they need support? | Action For Children

One in five children in England care for family members – The University of Nottingham

Coming soon…