Uk, Carers

There are 500,000 Black Asian Minority Ethnic (BAME) carers in England. This report shows that BAME carers provide more care than average. They face additional difficulties as they care, struggling with language barriers, accessing culturally appropriate services and with stereotyping around caring. This puts them at greater risk of ill health, poverty, loss of employment and social exclusion. The report analyses existing provisions and sets clear recommendations for local authorities, health and well being boards, primary care trusts and GP consortia to improve services.

Carers UK surveyed 4,282 carers between September 2010 and July 2011 to examine the financial pressures of caring, and these pressures have on carers' health. The sample included carers from the 4 nations of England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland. This report presents the key findings. Carers identified the extra costs of caring, the need to cut back to save money, debt and worry due to financial hardship.

Key points from this report about malnutrition: • Malnutrition is a hidden issue in the community which needs to be urgently tackled • Families are under stress and struggling to care without the right advice and support • Malnutrition is largely preventable and treatable • Earlier intervention will help to improve the quality of life for individuals and reap substantial cost savings to health and social care.

By looking at carers’ experiences, this report takes this case forward by exploring in more detail the evidence and opportunities afforded by telecare and telehealth technologies and the barriers to greater take-up.

In the first of our Future Care series, Care and technology in the 21st centuryexplores the current landscape on care and technology and calls for a technological transformation in the way we support families caring for ill, frail and disabled loved ones.

The report argues that the way families already use technology to work, plan their lives, shop and socialize should also be reflected in how we care and calls on the Government to set up a new independent, expert taskforce to drive innovation and partnership on care technology.

This ground-breaking report by Government, Employers for Carers and Carers UK, sets out the economic case for supporting the growing number of workers who also care for older or disabled relatives.

There are an estimated 6.4 million people in the UK1 currently caring for a child, friend, neighbour, partner or parent or a combination of these. Carers look after family and friends who are disabled, frail or ill. They work alongside professionals, volunteers, care homes, special schools and community groups often caring for people in their own home. The hours of care that they provide for ill, frail or disabled people often comes at a cost to their own health and well-being. The impact on a carers’ health and well-being, finances and relationships cannot be underestimated.

This briefing presents the findings of a survey that sought to find out more about how different local authorities collect and use information about their local carer populations: the range of information sources they use to form an evidence base on carers; how they use evidence to understand local need; and how evidence influences their planning and delivery of local carer support.

Report using carers' experiences to assess the effectiveness and value of the direct payments system and make recommendations for improvements.