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Give Carers a Break, Not a Breakdown
December 1, 2011 12:00 PM
Whenever I meet a carer I am humbled by their dedication and touched by the love they show in the face of daily adversity. To be a carer you have to be a pretty special person. It is also likely that you feel your tireless efforts to care for a family member or friend generally go unnoticed.
But the Liberal Democrats want to make sure this silent army of carers is recognised. Every year unpaid carers save our national services an estimated £119 billion a year (http://www.carersuk.org/index.php?option=com_k2&view=item&id=2121&Itemid=8), which is why we included a manifesto pledge to provide guaranteed respite care for the one million carers who work the longest hours.
Even just a holiday for a couple of days can make the world of difference to someone who must be on hand night and day to carry out their caring duties. I once came across the case of Zak, who not only looked after his autistic sister but his mother who had epilepsy. He was an amazing young man who deserved to be a teenager once in a while. After all, time away from home can help to combat the fact that many carers suffer physical and mental health problems, which places additional strain on the health service.
This is why the Coalition issued a revised national carers strategy (http://www.dh.gov.uk/en/Aboutus/Features/DH_122108) and announced £400 million of extra funding to be spent entirely on paying for breaks for carers (http://www.carers.org/news/government-announces-%C2%A3400-million-carers%E2%80%99-respite-breaks) in 2010. But although we were delighted to announce the funding, we wanted to make sure it was going to those who required it the most.
It turns out that not all the money given to PCTs was getting to carers in need (http://www.carers.org/news/many-pcts-failing-carers), an unacceptable situation. So last week we announced plans to make sure this would start to happen across the board. All these details were included in the latest NHS Operating Framework, a report that sets out guidance on priorities and plans for the health service for the coming year.
So as of April, local NHS organisations should identify and make public the amount of money they plan to spend on carers and how many breaks this will provide. By September 2012 they must also publicly publish their overall plans for carers.
Tomorrow (FRI) is Carers Rights Day (http://www.carersuk.org/get-involved/carers-rights-day) and today I'm off to Guildford to meet a group of unpaid carers and hear about the challenges they face and the support they need firsthand.
I hope you will join me in recognising the invaluable national resource that carers provide. In doing so we must continue to work hard to ensure this silent army receives the support and funding it deserves.
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