STUCK IN THE MIDDLE
EXPERTS WARN THAT SANDWICH* CARERS ARE SUFFERING FROM POOR MENTAL HEALTH
MORE than a quarter of adults who look after children as well as ill or elderly relatives have mental health problems.
New analysis from the Office for National Statistics shows that 22 per cent of the general population struggle with their mental health - experiencing things like anxiety and depression.
That rate rises to 27 per cent for adults who care for children as well as sick, disabled, or older relatives.
These people are called “sandwich carers”.
Around three per cent of the UK population, or 1.3 million people, has this twin responsibility.
The Office for National Statistics says that number has been rising because of a rise in life expectancy coupled with women waiting until later in life to give birth.
The figures show that the longer a sandwich carer spends caring, the greater the impact on their mental health.
Just under a quarter (24 per cent) of sandwich carers who spend up to four hours a week caring for an adult report poor mental health.
That rises to one third for sandwich carers who spend at least 20 hours a week caring for an adult.
More than four in every 10 sandwich carers (41 per cent) say they are unable to work as much as they’d like, or even to work at all.
A large number of sandwich carers also report a lack of leisure time to do the things they would like to do.
Helen Walker, chief executive of the charity Carers UK, said: “Given these pressures it is no surprise that more than a quarter of sandwich carers report symptoms of mental ill-health, and that this increases with the amount of care provided.
“As well as impacting on carers’ health and wellbeing, the strain also takes its toll on their ability to work – more than two million people have given up work to care for older or disabled relatives.
““It is vital that the government provides ambitious proposals for the funding and delivery of adult social care in the upcoming green paper – proposals that better support older and disabled people, giving the sandwich generation the ability to better manage work and caring responsibilities. “It must ensure that they receive practical and financial support to care without putting their own lives on hold.” A government spokesperson said: “Carers make an invaluable contribution to society by selflessly caring for friends and family and we recognise this must not come at the expense of their own health and wellbeing.