Still Game Isa: I didn’t realise I was a carer Star asks support-role Scots to seek help
STILL Game star Jane McCarry has told how she didn’t realise she was a carer as she encouraged others to seek help through a new campaign.
The actress, who plays nosey OAP Isa Drennan in the hit sitcom, looks after her elderly mum while juggling childcare and her career as a teacher and TV star.
With 390,000 more Scots becoming carers in the pandemic, she is urging others like her to seek help through a Scottish Government initiative.
In a heartfelt message to 1.1million carers, Jane said she didn’t realise she was one until co-star Gavin Mitchell, who plays Boaby the Barman, pointed it out.
Jane, 50, told the Carers Parliament: “At a do, Gavin introduced me as an actor, a teacher and a carer.
“I said, ‘I’m not a carer, I only look after my mum and dad and the kids’ and he said, ‘That’s what a carer is’. That’s the message I want to pass to people who didn’t realise they’re carers, that there’s support out there.” Mum-of-two Jane, from Glasgow, cared for her parents before her dad died several years ago.
She spoke of the “guilt” of trying to divide time between loved ones and said the pandemic has worsened the situation. She said: “The person you’re caring for may be in isolation so it’s more difficult for that person and you can’t ask a friend or a neighbour to help to give you a break.”
Jane added: “I know how challenging it is to be a carer. Sometimes we all need some support, be it counselling, peer support sessions or just sitting down for a cuppa with someone who knows what you’re going through.”
The campaign offers financial and emotional advice and many services are still operating during the pandemic.
For more information, go to nhs inform.scot/caring or call 0800 011 3200.
I know how difficult it is to be a carer. We all need support JANE McCARRY