Four out of 10 carers depressed, NHS data shows

LONDON: More than four in 10 carers feel depressed and the figure is rising, new NHS data shows. In 2018/19, 45.1 per cent of carers said they felt depressed, up from 43.4 per cent the year before.

Meanwhile, 60.6 per cent of carers in England felt stressed, up from 58.7 per cent the year before. The data, from NHS Digital, was based on responses from 50,800 carers who were looking after a person aged 18 or over.

Almost four in 10 (38.7 per cent) carers spent more than 100 hours a week on their caring duties, while 76 per cent spent over 20 hours a week. The percentage of carers who said they felt tired also rose to 77.8 per cent in 2018/19, up from 76 per cent the year before. Meanwhile, 66 per cent experienced disturbed sleep, up from 64 per cent the previous year. The survey found that the percentage of carers who were not in paid work because of their caring responsibilities increased from 21 per cent in 2016/17 to 22.6 per cent in 2018/19.

Meanwhile, one in 10 had experienced financial problems in the last year because of the care they needed to provide. Overall, 38.6 per cent of carers were extremely or very satisfied with the support or services they received.

Some 7.2 per cent were extremely or very dissatisfied and a further 7.2 per cent were quite dissatisfied. Helen Walker, chief executive of Carers UK, said: “The findings underline the need for Government to urgently come forward with significant and effective proposals for reforming adult social care funding, to ensure unpaid carers - and the family members and friends that they care for - get the support and services they need.”

She said the survey showed that carers’ own health was suffering. She added: “It couldn’t be clearer; carers, who provide so much support and value to society, are being massively short-changed.

It has been 839 days since the government first promised a green paper on adult Social Care reform. Meanwhile, the over 5.5 million carers in England remain in limbo, still waiting to find out what their future will look like.”