General practices promote the positive health of carers

A large majority of carers admit to feeling ill, anxious or exhausted.  A staggering 95% of carers said they regularly hide the fact that their health is suffering in order to continue with their caring responsibilities. Worryingly, one-fifth of these carers said they ignored feeling ill “all the time”.  Almost 1 in 4 carers said they frequently felt unable to cope with day to day caring due to the physical and emotional stresses of their caring role.

Many carers report finding it difficult to access the healthcare advice and support services they need.  More than 2 in 3 carers said that they had often been unable to find an opportunity to visit their GP about their own health concerns, due to time constraints and a general lack of flexibility to leave the house to attend appointments.   Well over half said they had not had a chance to discuss their concerns about their mental or physical health with anyone. 

As part of a range of initiatives to improve the health and wellbeing of carers, Carers Scotland will also launch a Resource Pack for General Practice ; including a carer specific noticeboard.  This Resource Pack aims to help general practice to identify carers and support them in maintaining and improving their own health and wellbeing.  It also aims to encourage those who look after someone to identify themselves as unpaid carers.

Pat Begley, Director of Carers Scotland said:
“Scotland’s 660,000 unpaid carers, ordinary people doing extraordinary things, daily contend with the harsh realities of caring for others, often at the cost of their own health.  Carers have consistently identified the key role that GPs and practice staff can play in supporting in their caring role. 

“We hope that the Conference and supporting General Practice Resource Pack will encourage every GP practice in Scotland to take positive, proactive and practical steps to promote and safeguard the health and wellbeing of carers.”

Carers Scotland’s Conference and Resource Pack for General Practice will be take place:

• Date: 7 October 2008
• Time: 10am-3.30pm
• Venue: Royal Society of Edinburgh

Further information:
Patrick J Begley, Director T. 0141 221 9141 E. pat.begley@carerscotland.org
Anne Conlin, Training & Development Manager T. 0141 221 9141 E. anne.conlin@carerscotland.org

Notes for Editors

1) Carers Scotland

Carers give so much to society yet as a consequence of caring, they experience ill health, poverty and discrimination.  Carers Scotland is an organisation of carers fighting to end this injustice and will not stop until people recognise the true value of carers’ contribution to society and carers get the practical, financial and emotional support they need.   Carers Scotland is here to improve carers’ lives.  We fight for equality for carers. We want carers to have the same right as everyone else to an ordinary life – a fair level of income, access to support to protect their health and well being and access to the world of work, leisure and education.  We seek to empower carers. We want carers to be actively involved in the design, development and delivery of services. We want carers to be recognised and involved as key partners in the provision of health and social care services.  Carers Scotland achieves this by: campaigning for the changes that make a real difference for carers, providing information and advice to carers about their rights and how to get support, mobilising carers and supporters to influence decision-makers; gathering hard evidence about what needs to change; and transforming the understanding of caring so that carers are valued and not discriminated against.  Visit: www.carerscotland.org

2) Carers in Scotland

There are 660,000 carers in Scotland, saving the Scottish economy £7.6 billion each year.  110,000 carers provide 50 hours of care or more each week often at great cost to their own health, finances and wellbeing.  Every year 178,000 people become carers and it is estimated that by 2037, there will be more than 1 million carers in Scotland.

Details of the number of carers in each local authority area are available from Carers Scotland