Without unpaid carers the system would collapse

Abstract

The role that is played by unpaid carers in health and social care in England has recently been researched by King's Fund. 1 Unpaid carers can be understood as anyone who provides care, unpaid for a friend or family member, who, due to illness, disability, a mental health problem or an addiction, cannot cope without their support. They have a huge range of recurrent responsibilities including regular communication with general practitioners, nurses, and healthcare professionals to support them while they care for another person; liaison with residential homes; access to medical information and explanation; and sufficient carer training. 1 Given their contribution to the social system in England, which is assessed to be equivalent of 4 million care workers, the system would collapse without unpaid carers. However, 80% of adults providing more than 20 hours of care reported at least one health impact, compared with 38% of those who provided less than 1 hour of care. 1