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The National Carers’ Strategy Demonstrator Sites (DS) programme was developed by the Department of Health (DH) as part of the commitments made in the 2008 National Carers’ Strategy (HMG, 2008). The DS programme, delivered across England, comprised 25 partnerships. With a delivery period of 18 months, each site was expected to develop new, innovative services for carers, or to extend existing provision if effective arrangements were already in place.

Carers look after family, friends or partners in help because they are ill, frail or have a disability. The care they provide is unpaid. In any year 301,000 adults in the UK become carers. Three out of five carers have had to give up work to care. Almost all of us have been or will be a carer during our lifetime.

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.

The social care system is widely seen as failing and it has long been clear that fundamental and lasting reform is necessary.  Reform is made all the more urgent as an ageing population will mean rising demand for care and support. Projected changes in demographics, availability of support from carers, unit costs of care and other factors indicate that social care in its current form will struggle to meet people's needs. Longer life need not mean more time spent in ill health. Improving public health and developing interventions for long-term conditions could pay major dividends.

Carers have a pressing need to be directed to good sources of information, help and support. NHS organisations appear to be consulting with carers much less than the level envisaged in the National Strategy for Carers. There is still too much poor or indifferent consultation practice and service providers appear not to be following known good practice guidelines. Over eight out of ten carers said that caring had a negative impact on their own health. Almost nine out of ten reported that they feel stress, anxiety, depression or loss of sleep, due to being a carer.

During 2003 the Audit Commission conducted a study of services and support for the carers of older people in England, with a particular emphasis on the implementation of the national Carer's Strategy. In order to place this study in context, a background study was commissioned into the approaches taken in a number of other countries to supporting carers.

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.

Mencap’s 2003 Breaking Point report identified the appalling situation faced by the majority of families caring for children and adults with severe and profound learning disabilities. Despite highlighting the issues with central and local government at every opportunity, Mencap continues to meet families pushed to breaking point. We have revisited the issues in this report, as we have come across many more stories of families who are still not getting the short break they need. We can confirm that, sadly, nothing has really changed.

We analyse the impact of the provision of care on the health and quality of life (QoL) of adult female informal caregivers using a representative sample drawn from the survey of health, ageing and retirement in Europe (SHARE). We match each informal caregiver with a non-carer using propensity score matching and test whether matched individuals differ on self-assessed health and a functional indicator of QoL and whether this relationship differs across European regions.

The Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) commissioned the Social Policy Research Unit at the University of York to conduct research exploring the aspirations and decisions around work and retirement of people looking after disabled or sick relatives, friends, or older people. The study involved three elements: a literature review; in-depth interviews with 80 carers; and focus groups with professionals from Jobcentre Plus, social services departments and carers organisations who worked with carers.