Nearly 20,000 people on the Island are unpaid carers and the Isle of Wight council has pledged to do more to support them.
It’s after a survey on the Island found nearly a third of unpaid carers were neglecting themselves and are increasingly getting into crisis situations because of a lack of support available.
Carers feel ignored, isolated and taken for granted
They said they feel ignored, isolated and taken for granted by professionals.
The number of unpaid carers to over 18-year-olds has risen on the Island by more than 3,000 people in the last ten years, to 19,757, and there are a further 300 young carers.
New strategy to help solve issues
The council’s cabinet agreed a new strategy last week to help solve these issues, which has been drawn up in consultation with unpaid carers.
The authority’s adult social care director, Laura Gaudion, said supporting unpaid carers on the Island is key to ensuring the people they care for remain safe, well and are able to live the life they choose in the best possible way they can.
She said the strategy was designed to stretch the authority and its health partners but there was a full commitment to developing an action plan so they can measure the success.
Unpaid carers holding families together
The council recognised unpaid carers were the ones holding families together and keeping people safe but also support services, including respite care, need to be improved.
Three priorities have been set out to ‘make a real difference’ including:
- ensuring unpaid carers are recognised
- they have communication and access to health and social care services when needed
- they are supported so their health and well-being is improved
Among ways to improve includes better partnership working to validate the role; consulting with carers on their needs; making more information, advice and training available and looking at options to increase respite care.
Fuller: Carers are the real unsung heroes
Cllr Paul Fuller said carers have a very isolating role and the authority should be doing everything it could to support the real unsung heroes in our communities.
He said they needed to be protected and looked after by the council as they were doing a lot of work which would otherwise be the responsibility of the authority.
This article is from the BBC’s LDRS (Local Democracy Reporter Service) scheme, which News OnTheWight is taking part in. Some alterations and additions may have been made by OnTheWight. Ed
Image: National Cancer Institute under CC BY 2.0
