In this guest blog from Membership+ Gold Members, Carers Trust Tyne and Wear their Business Development Manager, Ant Lea tells us about their research into support for unpaid carers during the pandemic and their organisations work.
The lockdowns, distancing and quarantines associated with COVID-19 might be becoming a distant memory for many of us. We’ve since moved into the next ‘new normal’, though that probably means something very different to us all.
One enduring memory of that time was the weekly clapping and banging pans in support of our frontline workers. Whilst a sign of appreciation for the health workers dealing with the worst effects of the virus, I felt that, in a sense, it was a way for people to say, ‘I’m still here and I see you over there’, as we looked across the road at the neighbours that we no longer passed in the street. However, it was the absence of a clap for our unpaid carers that remains most poignant for me. Working for a charity supporting young and adult carers, I was acutely aware of the services that they had lost while their already demanding role supporting loved ones with disabilities, chronic illnesses and addictions had dramatically increased. It felt like our unpaid carers were the unsung heroes of the pandemic.
The Local Government Association estimated that 4.5 million people became unpaid carers because of the pandemic.
This was on top of the 9.1 million already caring before COVID-19, many of whom faced a huge increase in the support they had to provide. National research by Carers Trust, published in July 2020, indicated that 11% of young carers and nearly 20% of young adult carers saw an increase in their caring role of 30 hours or more. Almost 8% of young carers and 15% of young adult carers were spending over 90 hours a week caring.
Locally, Gateshead Carers Association’s survey of adult carers found that, during lockdowns, more than half were caring for over 100 hours per week.
At Carers Trust Tyne and Wear, 75% of the people who were receiving a weekly break from caring through our Carer Relief Service had to suspend their support to minimise the risk of COVID-19 infection, something that could diminish their ability to provide care and prove fatal to vulnerable family members. As our support built back up again 2021, we knew that there must be stories that we hadn’t heard from our carers that might somehow guide service provision. This year, we were fortunate to work with JH Research to explore carers' experiences during the pandemic, the value of short breaks from caring and the impact of having or losing access to these breaks. While the study focussed on services during the pandemic, its findings and recommendations also shed light on the importance of breaks from the caring role.
As you might expect, the loss of a break from caring led to increased isolation, stress and anxiety, and worsening health. Three quarters of those who lost relief care services saw their quality of life diminish, half found it hard to cope, and a quarter lost confidence in their ability to continue caring. Unpaid carers also had to reduce their working hours, and some had difficulty accessing a vaccination.
Some were only able to leave the house when one of our team visited. This then enabled them to rest, get shopping done, connect with others (including other children), and continue working. Importantly, it enabled them to look after their own health through exercise, attending medical appointments and receiving vaccinations. People who continued to receive support throughout the pandemic were also less likely than those whose service was interrupted to report that their physical and mental health, well-being and quality of life had got worse, and more likely to report that these things had stayed the same or improved. This suggests that we may well have played an important protective role in unpaid carers’ health, well-being and quality of life during the pandemic. While the numbers taking part in the study are relatively small and this difference could be due to random variation, it is strongly supported by the stories shared during more in-depth interviews.
Other key features of the study are the particular service qualities that unpaid carers valued and, in some cases, how these differed from their experiences of domiciliary care. They perceived the service as being focussed on them, rather than just the person that they care for, and built on flexibility, trust, a relationship with staff and the organisation, and consistency of workers visiting the home. In some case, unpaid carers had actually refused domiciliary care packages as they lacked these qualities that they felt were important for maintaining dignity and quality of life.
It’s recognised that people providing the most care are more likely to experience serious illness or disability of their own.
Although beyond this study’s scope, the research suggests that by receiving a break, unpaid carers will be less likely to need health and other support services for themselves and will be more likely to care better and for longer. This could then lead to a reduced or delayed need for statutory or residential care for the people that they care.
Pulling these strands together, a picture forms of a different kind of social care with the unpaid carer at its heart. It is a system focussed on preserving their health, wellbeing and dignity as well as the loved one that they support, through services that value relationships and flexibility. The implications of this are clear. Unpaid carers are healthier, happier, can manage better in times of crisis and can continue for longer in their important role, which then reduces the costly impact on the wider social care system.
While COVID-19 might be becoming a distant memory for many, I’m regularly reminded through news of bereavement, long COVID, and vaccination concerns that it is still prominent in people’s lives. This should be a reminder that there is still much to be done in how we design social care, but there are alternatives with the potential to make valuable immediate and long-term differences.
The full report can be accessed here.
VONNE Gold and Silver Membership+ members have the opportunity to sumbit a guest blog for our website as part of their member benefits. You can find out more about being a VONNE Gold and Silver Member and the member benefits here.