Being an unpaid carer isolates individuals sometimes for weeks

Unpaid carers in Scotland often spend weeks isolated indoors without speaking to anyone other than those they care for.

New research paints a bleak picture of what caring for a loved one involves for the country’s estimated 747,000 unpaid carers.

They are seven times more likely to be lonely than people who are not responsible for looking after a loved one living with an illness, disability, mental health condition, or as they grow older, a survey by Carers UK has found.

It comes as Carers Week was launched (10 June) which aims to raise awareness of the plight carers face.

Across the UK, the number of people providing unpaid care is increasing rapidly, and it appears there are far more unpaid carers in the UK than previously. Carers UK suggested that figure could now stand at around 8.8m adults – one person in six – up nearly 40% from the estimated 6.3m in 2011.

Forecasts published at the start of century estimated that the number of unpaid carers in the UK wouldn’t reach nine million until 2037.

Carers UK, Age UK, Carers Trust, Motor Neurone Disease Association, MS Society, Rethink Mental Illness and Sense are calling for unpaid carers to be at the heart of what they say are “much needed reforms” to social care funding and for the Government to improve financial support for carers.

“With as many as one in six adults in the UK now taking on an unpaid caring role it is high time our society recognises and values the crucial support they provide, said Helen Walker, chief executive of Carers UK.

“Many unpaid carers struggle alone without support. If we are to combat the loneliness epidemic facing them it is imperative that everyone – Government, employers, health and care professionals, schools and universities, and each of us individually – plays a role putting carers in touch with practical and financial help,” Walker added.