Help carers be healthy

Some 6.5million people in the UK look after a loved one with a disability, illness, mental health problem or extra needs as they grow older.

Whilst caring can be hugely rewarding, it can have a huge effect on us, our lives and our plans.

Unpaid carers are often unprepared for the impact caring can have and frequently put their own health and wellbeing needs to the ‘back of the queue’.

That’s why, this Carers Week (June 11 to 17), we are asking individuals and communities up and down the UK to help unpaid carers stay ‘Healthy and Connected’.

Whoever you are, whatever you do, you can make a difference by helping to make it easier for people to recognise their role as a carer and get support from their communities and the services around them.

More than half of carers have seen their physical (61%) and mental health (70%) worsen as a result of their caring role. From employers introducing ‘carer friendly’ policies at work, to GP practices offering check ups and flexible appointment times for carers; communities are integral to supporting carers’ health and wellbeing.

As such, we’re asking readers in to visit the Carers Week website to find out how you can make a difference to carers in your area.

There are lots of different ways to get involved in Carers Week including:

Visit the Carers Week website www.carersweek.org and:

Pledge your support for Carers Week.

Run an activity or event and add it to the Carers Week website. You can find lots of ideas and inspiration on the website.

Follow Carers Week on Twitter @CarersWeek and use the hashtag #carersweek

Like Carers Week on Facebook at www.facebook. com/carersweek and join in with the discussions.

Carers are the mainstay of our communities.

Let’s make the most of Carers Week to show carers just how much we recognise and value the vital contribution they make to our families, communities and wider society.

This year, led by Carers UK joining forces with Age UK, Carers Trust, Independent Age, Macmillan Cancer Support, Motor Neurone Disease Association, MS Society, Which? Elderly Care, the Carers Week campaign hopes you will join us in to help carers be healthy and connected.

Heléna Herklots CBE, Chief Executive of Carers UK, on behalf of Carers Week