One in four voluntary carers have not had day off in five years, study warns
Nearly nine in 10 (87 per cent) of carers said they still “struggle†to attain time away from their care duties, due in part to cost (32 per cent), the cared for person being unwilling to accept support from others (31 per cent) and a lack of specialised support on offer (27 per cent).
Nearly three-quarters of carers who had not had a break in a year or more meanwhile reported deterioration in their mental health (73 per cent), while 65 per cent reported a decline in their physical health.
The research also noted growing anxiety around the level of support that will be available against a backdrop of cuts to adult social care services, with almost a third (29 per cent) of carers worried that practical support for them might be reduced in the future.
Already, more than half (59 per cent) of carers reported a change in the services they received and, of these, four in ten (39 per cent) experienced a reduction in the amount of support offered by social services.
