Support needed for ‘vital’ network of carers
YORKSHIRE’S ARMY of almost 580,000 unpaid carers are putting their own health at risk as they look after loved ones and prop up a system that would “collapse” without them, council leaders have warned.
The Local Government Association (LGA) and charity Carers UK said many of the 5.7m people looking after family or friends in England, of which 573,954 are in Yorkshire and the Humber, were unable to take a break from their roles, potentially causing their health to suffer.
Health Secretary Matt Hancock has been urged to include funding for assessments of carers in the long-awaited green paper on social care, due this autumn.
The LGA estimates it would cost £150m to provide these assessments to identify their needs, but argues this is more cost-effective than having to pay long-term costs for social care and emergency hospital care. In Yorkshire alone, the care provided by loved ones is valued at just over £11bn a year, Carers UK estimates.
Ian Hudspeth, chairman of the LGA’s community wellbeing board, said: “Unpaid carers are the backbone of the care system, many of whom are unable to take a break, putting their own health on the line.
“Without these unsung heroes the system would collapse.
“But this vital network of family carers is at an increasing risk of breaking down due to the nature of the job, rising costs and demands for care, and the crisis in adult social care funding.”
He warned there is a £3.5 billion funding gap facing adult social care by 2025 just to maintain existing standards.
“We cannot duck this issue as a society any longer,” he said.
Emily Holzhausen, director of policy at Carers UK, said it was a “false economy” in the long term not to invest in breaks.
The need to support carers has been recognised by the West Yorkshire and Harrogate Health and Care Partnership.
Chief executive lead Rob Webster said there were 260,000 people in that region caring for someone they love “not because they get paid, but through an act of love and devotion”.
He added: “It’s essential that we think about the people we support as being a partner in our care.”
A Department of Health and Social Care spokesman said it was looking at how to improve carers’ access to breaks and respite care, and the forthcoming green paper will look at “long-term sustainable solutions for the social care system”.