City’s unpaid carers struggle to cope with lack of help in pandemic

Unpaid carers in Dundee say they are drowning under the pressure of looking after others with little support during the pandemic.

A new survey shows more than 80% in the city have struggled to cope and say their mental and physical health has taken a hit.

Respondents pinpoint increased hours and a struggle to balance commitments, while some have even given up paid work to continue helping others.

Unpaid carer John Bissett, 71, lives in the Ardler area of Dundee. He says he first started caring for his severely disabled mum without pay aged 17.

He has spent his life looking after others in both his career as a carer and in a voluntary capacity.

“I completely understand what people are saying in this survey,” says John, who also campaigns for equality for the vulnerable.

“Loneliness is a big thing for me and others.

“Carers have also had to take on many more hours doing caring duties because of the pandemic.

“I’ve found it tough at times myself. There is a lack of support and financially, you get very little.

“I’ve been doing this pretty much my whole life so I’ve never thought much about it. I just love helping people. But I do wish there was more help and support available.”

Of the 116 respondents, 84% said the pandemic has had a negative impact on their physical, mental and social wellbeing, while 60% feel socially isolated.

And 82% feel more worried and anxious about the future.

In a worrying finding for authorities, more than half could not access any support to improve their own wellbeing.

The survey was conducted by Dundee Health & Social Care Partnership (DHSCP) in an effort to better understand and support carers.

The organisation’s vicechairperson Trudy Mcleay stressed society would fall apart without their devotion.

“Having been a carer and not realised this, I know there are many in that group who don’t actually realise they are,” she said.

“It’s how we reach those people who aren’t having access to services who are just getting on with it.

“Mental ill health of both carers and those they are supporting has gone sky high because of the feeling of isolation and of limited support we’ve been able to offer them.

“There’s a huge roll of carers within our community. Without them our whole healthcare system collapses so we do need to support them.”

Unpaid carers, as the name suggests, do not receive payment for the work they do. They only receive a small amount of financial support if they can prove they spend at least 35 hours per week helping someone.

The Scottish Government estimates there to be around 700,000 in Scotland but there could be more.

Another unpaid carer, Martyn Sloan, who sits on the DHSCP board as the unpaid carer representative, told members the pandemic has exposed pressures that already existed.

“As a carer myself, I experience the majority of the key findings of the survey,” she said.

“I have suffered myself quite extensively on the physical, mental and social wellbeing aspect of the last 12 months.

“It’s something which I know the DHSCP will bring forward solutions for.”

Picture by Mhairi Edwards. LIFE OF SERVICE: John Bissett has been a carer since the age of 17, when he started looking after his severely disabled mum, and is now 71.