Last Updated on November 2, 2023
A widespread lack of support and recognition from health and care services is damaging unpaid carers’ mental health, research from Carers UK shows.
Carers UK carried out an online survey between June and August 2023, receiving a total of 10,751 responses from current unpaid carers.
More than a quarter (27%) of unpaid carers are in bad or very bad mental health, rising to 31% of those caring for more than 50 hours a week, or over 10 years.
84% have continuous low mood, 82% have feelings of hopelessness and 71% regularly feel tearful. 68% of carers with bad or very bad mental health are living with a sense of fear or dread.
Despite feeling they are at breaking point, nearly three quarters (73%) of these carers are continuing to provide care.
Not getting support is taking its toll on worn out unpaid carers: having to wait long periods for health treatment - or putting it off because of the demands of their caring role; being unable to rely on fragmented social care services to support with caring, and struggling financially because they cannot earn a higher income.
Of unpaid carers overall, more than three quarters (79%) feel stressed or anxious, half (49%) feel depressed, and half (50%) feel lonely.
65% of carers agreed that the increase in the cost of living was having a negative impact on their physical and/or mental health.
Carers UK is urging the Government to provide the necessary investment in the NHS and social care so that unpaid carers can take care of their physical and mental health. The charity is also asking the Equality and Human Rights Commission to undertake an inquiry into unpaid carers’ ability to access health services in England.
Helen Walker, chief executive of Carers UK said, ‘Unpaid carers make an enormous contribution to society, but far too regularly feel unseen, undervalued and completely forgotten by services that are supposed to be there to support them.
‘The unrelenting pressure of not being able to take breaks from caring, being able to prioritise their own health or earn enough money to make ends meet is causing many to hit rock bottom.
‘Unpaid carers desperately need to be recognised and supported with their caring roles. Working with local authorities, the Government and NHS England must drive a programme of quicker and more targeted interventions to prevent poor mental health amongst carers.’
The Carers UK Forum is our online community of carers and is available to Carers UK members 24 hours a day, 365 days a year: www.carersuk.org/forum.
In other news, new analysis has revealed there are now almost one million more workers aged 65 and over in the UK than at the start of the century.