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“A carer confided in the GP surgery receptionist that she was not coping at home due to the stress of being a carer to her husband who had been diagnosed with Dementia. She was alone, and nobody understood how her husband could be a handful as his friends and family knew him as this kind caring man”.
Source: Hywel Dda Regional IiC (2016)
It is important to recognise that carers’ wellbeing can be significantly improved by addressing low level issues such as not being able to carry out maintenance or DIY, tidy up the garden or clean the windows.
Carers are not a static population. Every year around a third of carers find their caring role has come to end as the person they care for recovers, moves into residential care or passes away (Carers UK, 2015). Life after caring can bring new challenges. Loss of role and function compound normal grieving and can lead to isolation and depression. Many carers will have depended on the welfare benefits of those that they cared for to jointly live on but when the caring role comes to an end welfare benefits can stop too leaving carers having to apply for benefits themselves. As one carer put it:
“Why doesn't anyone pick up on this and help the carer to be able to move on?”
Source: Carers UK
Carers also face a number of other challenges including transport and finding suitable and affordable housing, and inadequate and inaccessible service provision for carers and for the cared for person.
• Lookingaftersomeonewithadisabilityorillnesscanmakeitdifficulttogetoutofthe house. This could be due to mobility, travel and fuel costs or poor transport links within large rural areas
• Carers and their families often face problems in relation to suitable and affordable housing. Carers are not being prioritised for housing, can suffer overcrowding or other types of inappropriate housing, sometimes without a separate bedroom for the carer or cared for person
• Inadequateserviceprovisionforthecarerandcaredforpersonisalsoanissueacross the region. Lack of services can have a knock on effect on carers, for example a lack of inpatient, day services, clinics, and respite care, and specialist services for example for older people, people with mental health issues, veterans and their families and younger adults with physical disability. The north of the region is particularly poorly served in terms of mental health and dementia service
Health and care services need to be better tailored to the carer’s individual needs rather than the organisations providing them. Mixed consistency of support from local services means that carers are facing barriers to maintaining their health, balancing work and
West Wales Population Assessment March 2017 Carers