Carers count
For Carers Week 2022, Debbie Hustings, Leadership Support Manager for the London Commitment to Carers Programme at NHS England shares her thoughts on what it is to be a carer.
I have heard it be said that there are only four kinds of people in the world:
1. Those who have been a carer
2. Those who are currently carers
3. Those who will be carers
4. Those who will need a carer
At some point, I have been all four. And yet, in over 30 years of caring, no healthcare professional has ever identified me as a carer. But what is a carer?
A carer is someone who helps another person, usually a relative or friend, in their day-to-day life.
A carer is someone who helps another person, usually a relative or friend, in their day-to-day life. This is not the same as someone who provides care professionally (paid), or through a voluntary organisation. And this is where the issues begin. During the early days of Covid, the nation came together to clap for carers; those paid staff who, on the frontline, risked their lives to care for others and quite rightly got the nation’s applause and appreciation for doing so. But what about the seven million unpaid carers who rarely have a choice whether they care or not; who don’t get to go home after a shift; who have no rights to a break, despite finding themselves caring 24:7, 365 days a year in isolation and often poverty. What about them?
Carers week offers us the opportunity to raise awareness about unpaid carers. Like the rest of the country, unpaid carers are a huge part of London’s health and care system. The financial contribution alone would cost the NHS over £13.5 bn to replace. But often carers remain unidentified. One reason for this could be due to the terminology. Carers themselves often shy away from the term. I know I preferred to see my role as an extension of my familial role. But in doing so, we deny ourselves access to a range of advice, information and support services, which in some cases can be life-changing.
I have seen enormous progress made over the past three decades: new rights have been achieved and more support has become available, but there is still a lot more to be done.
I started caring in the late 80s when the caring movement was in its infancy. Since then, I have cared for five members of my family, all in very different circumstances. As a result of those experiences and the learning I gained, I was able to care for my mother at End of Life (EOL) and fulfil her dying wish to die at home with her family around her.
I have seen enormous progress made over the past three decades: new rights have been achieved and more support has become available, but there is still a lot more to be done. Not least within the NHS. The new Health and Care Bill provides a once in a lifetime opportunity to reset the carers agenda with its focus on providing integrated support. We need to make carers everybody’s business. We need to make every contact count and routinely seek to proactively identify carers and, where consent is provided, involve them in care planning. We need to recognise and value the caring role knowing that in turn, with their insight and expertise, they can help us do our job of supporting patients better. Finally, we need to refer carers to support services which can support their wellbeing and help them in their caring role.
So let’s all make a pledge this carers week to do better for our carers, whether we are treating the patients they care for or the carer themselves, and to be there for our colleagues who may be combining work with caring.
I always said my job will be done the day a healthcare professional listens to me and says “Debbie, did you know what you do is called being a carer, and that there are services out there to support you?”
That day hasn’t arrived yet, but I feel it’s getting closer.
Debbie Hustings has been a carer for over 30 years and is the Leadership Support Manager for the Commitment to Carers Programme at NHS England — London.
