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Main Content: Comment from Carers UK
Comment from Imelda Redmond CBE, Chief Executive of Carers UK on today’s social care conference and Conservative concerns for the role of unpaid carers.
February 19th 2010
Commenting on today’s social care conference and Conservative concerns for the role of unpaid carers, Imelda Redmond CBE, Chief Executive of Carers UK said:
“Today’s Government’s conference and statements from the Conservative party about carers are signs that social care is finally becoming a major political priority. Families caring for their loved ones know how serious the crisis in our care system is, and have long been calling for politicians to face up to the difficult challenges of funding a system that can meet their needs.
However under the current system many families face bills of hundreds of pounds each week just to get basic support in the home to help them care or to take a break from caring. Many feel they cannot afford to pay, or cannot get the right kind of services to meet their needs, so they are forced to give up work to take on the care themselves. These people often fall into ill-health, poverty and isolation as a result of being left unsupported.
Building a care system that is fit for purpose will not come cheap. We all need to face up to difficult decisions about who pays. We call on all political parties to put party differences aside and focus on delivering a care system that is fair, flexible and sustainable in the longer term. To achieve this, social care needs to be an issue of consensus not a source of political point scoring.”