In Poor Health : the impact of caring on health.

Summary

• Carers who provide high levels of care for sick, or disabled relatives and friends, unpaid, are more than twice as likely to
  suffer from poor health compared to people without caring responsibilities.
• Analysis of the Census shows that nearly 21% of carers providing over 50 hours of care say they are in poor health compared to nearly 11% of the non-carer population.
• Nearly 700,000 carers reported that they were in ‘not good health’ according to the Census. Nearly a quarter of a million carers providing over 50
  hours of care per week said they were in poor health.
• Carers in younger age groups – i.e. 16 and up – are significantly more likely to suffer ill-health than non-carers of the same age.
• As carers become older, the evidence suggests that they are far more likely to be caring with ill-health – at a similar rate to their own age group. In other words, if they already have ill-health and take on caring responsibilities, this could have a significant impact on their health.
• The causes of carers' poor physical and mental illhealth are due to a lack of information, lack of support – either the right kind or the right amount,
  worry about finances and the general stresses and strains of caring full-time with everyday life and isolation.

RECOMMENDATIONS

• Promoting better health for carers
• Recognition of carers as an at risk group
• Provision of practical support
• Better financial support for carers