Now we must look after our unpaid carers

The statistics follow the introduction of the Personal Care At Home Bill, outlined in the Queen’s Speech, that highlighted the plight of the country’s most dedicated unpaid carers and entitles people to free care from the state.

In the last census in 2001, there were a recorded 57,000 unpaid carers in Worcestershire.

Helen Garfield, information officer at the Worcestershire Association for Carers, said most of them do not realise the benefits or financial support available.

The association has 4,000 to 5,000 unpaid carers on its database, meaning there could be up to 50,000 carers living without the support they are entitled to.

Ms Garfield said: “There are thousands of carers who do not know of the benefits or financial support available to them.

“We give them local support and offer training programmes, send out a newsletter and make sure the carers themselves are fit and well.”

The association provides a huge relief for many carers and they try to promote themselves as much as possible by working with GP practices, local libraries and the local media.

“It’s always difficult to raise awareness, but it is an ongoing task to get the message across.

“The job of a carer varies widely and can be anything from taking responsibility for bills and letters, to hands-on personal care which may be 24/7.

“The theme this year is Caring for your Income and Pension, and we have more than 20 organisations attending giving people the chance to speak to a wide variety of professionals who can help carers one-to-one with advice on all aspects of benefits and pensions.”

If you would like more information about the event, ring the association on 01905 26500 or 0800 6523151.

The association has also won a contract to run the caring with confidence training scheme, a series of seven modules which will be run from January.

For more information on the programme, contact the caring with confidence coordinator Wendy Rothwell on 01905 26500.