Carers joint commissioning strategy refresh 2013-2015

Carers Strategy Refresh 201387% say that caring has had a negative impact on their mental health,including stress and depression.Carers report being unable to find time for medical check-ups or treatment,with two in five carers saying that they were forced to put off treatmentbecause of their caring responsibilities – unable to trust or find suitable andaffordable replacement care.Research has confirmed that carers suffer more stress, poorer health andgenerally have a lower income than those who are without caringresponsibilities 7A four year study of carers and non-carers aged 66–92 found that carers whowere reporting feelings of strain had a 63% higher likelihood of death in thatperiod than non-carers or carers not reporting strain. 8Carers providing high levels of care were associated with a 23% higher risk ofstroke. 936% of carers who had not taken a break of more than a few hours sincebeginning their caring role, which is many, experienced mental ill-healthcompared to 17% of carers who had been able to take such a break. 10Unpaid carers have twice the prevalence of long-term illness and disability asthe rest of the Scottish population. 11Hospital Admission and DischargeA survey of carers of older people found that problems associated with thecarer contributed to readmission of patients in 62% of cases and the carers ofpeople readmitted were more likely than other carers to be experiencing illhealth,fatigue and interrupted sleep. 12A study of people aged over 75 years old, found that 20% of those needingcare were admitted to hospital because of the breakdown of a single carer onwhom the person was mainly dependent.Research by Carers UK includes cases of carers discharging themselves fromhospital because of an absence of alternative care. 136 Carers Week (2012) In Sickness and In Health7 Cited in Fyvie-Gauld M. et al Carers and Services for Carers in East Sussex, 20068 Schulz, R & Beach, S, „Caregiving as a risk factor for mortality‟ . Journal of AmericanMedical Association, Dec 1999, vol. 282 (23), 2215–2219.9 Haley, W et al (2010), „Caregiving strain and estimated risk for stroke and coronary heartdisease among spouse caregivers‟ . Stroke, 41:331-336.10 Singleton, N et al (2002), „Mental Health of Carers‟ . London: Office for National Statistics,The Stationery Office.11 Castleton, B (1998), Developing a whole system approach to the analysis and improvementof health and social care for older people and their carers: A pilot study in West Byfleet,Surrey. Unpublished. Referenced by Banks, P (1998) „Carers: making the connections‟ .Managing Community Care, vol 6, issue 6.12 Williams, E, Fitton, F (1991), „Survey of carers of elderly patients discharged fromhospital‟ . British Journal of General Practice, 41, 105-108.13 Carers UK (2005) Back Me Up: Supporting Carers When They Need It MostPage 5 of 11