Access to Health Care for Carers: Intervention evaluaitons: Supplementary report

Almost seven million adults in Britain care for sick, elderly or disabled friends and relatives on an unpaid basis. Caring is physically and mentally demanding, and many carers say it has a negative impact on their own well-being. But despite this, carers’ health needs often go unaddressed. Sometimes this is due to professionals not recognising or understanding these needs. Sometimes it is due to difficulties getting an appointment that fits around their caring responsibilities. It may even be because carers prioritise the health of the person they are caring for, at the expense of their own. However, evaluations from a range of projects show that there are positive steps that can be taken to improve carers’ access to health care.