Results for "National Carers Survey: Have your say!"

Showing the last 50 answers

No pay

Having services that support skills development eg Positive Behaviour Support, hand crafts, outings out of the home eg to the cinema or beach, Sewing, horse riding, gardeningg

2jobs one wage

2jobs one wage

Carers Allowance is far too low to sustain life, so have to work as well, while trying to avoid needing a carer myself! Social Services RBKC and the Finance team are appalling. The sending of emails is relied on when making referrals, rather than ensuring the matter is resolved asap and within a timeframe that benefits the client.

I am a unpaid carer looking after my mother can’t work as look after her for more than 35 hours a week around the clock care… need more financial support

Lack of help, lack of support

Feel isolated

Lack of support, respite .

N/a

Working too many hours

Having no money left to actually 'live' is appalling way to treat those that are at their most vulnerable

I care for my partner full time and I get next to nothing for doing it.

As an Unpaid Carer - who has become disabled by being forced to care 24/7 for my two sons for 23yrs with no respite & never a nights sleep I am angry & exhausted. Because I have been made disabled by service due to their failures to fund assessed care needs - I am now in the position that the meagre Carers Allowance I receive is deducted from my Universal Credit.

I have 2 disabled children who I care for but only receive money for one and I do more care for the one I dont get any money for.its so wrong.

I'm accredited with our council,and so self employed. Wages aren't too bad,I can choose my hours and clients. There simply aren't enough carers. Also some of the criteria for caring, especially with agencies,are too rigid.

Isolation

Exhaustion

Exhausted by the additional pressure being on a low income causes. Less food , no heat no choices or access to services and basic living

It is actually all of the items that you mentioned Low pay/benefits, Low staffing levels and lack of enthusiasm for their work. because they are working TOO MANY HOURS so you see it is all three together.

How stretched the paired cares are and lack of support for the cares from manigment

I feel with the above the pay and benefits are terrible no recognition for the hard work we put in and the hours. The staffing issues are horrendous in Care.

Am retired caring for husband without respite

Overworked, too much responsibility, sleep deprived. Carers’ allowance a pittance.

I was a carer until my husband's death in August

Carers allowance is a joke, we should get it on top of universal credit, not instead of.

I'm an unpaid carer of young adult family members. I'm undergoing chemo which is impacting on my function, and the anxiety levels of those in my care.

So much pressure on me and time, Doug jobs that aren’t even my responsibility

you have to do 35 hours care for less than £70 a week carers' allowance and can only earn a limited amount from a job.t

Not been able to work due to my children struggling with school

Support needed for the fear we experience every day.

I am living in poverty because I am caring for a family member because I want to give them a better quality of life than they would have struggling on alone trying to manage to feed and wash themselves.

There aren't enough paid carers to go round and I'm having trouble finding anyone

A combination of poor pay and poor staffing levels.

All the above apply to carers particularly in caring the professions

Pay and staffing levels

Minimum wage does not cover cost of living. Travel 48 miles a day to & from work

All of the above plus feeling dismissed by the government.

All of the above

Work/carer life balance. Lack of sleep.

Unpaid carer..

Not being entitled to the cost of living allowance for fuel etc

All of the above

All of the above

Shortage of accessible care services

As someone caring for a spouse I am not qualified to say.

Little respite

No longer a Carer but was one for 20+ years

Very slow carers' assessments

Removal of carer's allowance when the person cared for is admitted to hospital..you still travel to hospital with items from home etc

Showing the last 50 answers

allow carers to be trained so they can support their loved ones. and allow time off work for this . eg moving and handling. mental health, first aid. etc. As I work full time I get no time to do anything proactively , everything is reactive.

The government must overhaul the care system.

Unpaid carers do not get enough recognition or support or respite.

N/a

Free higher education helps

All Unpaid Carers to be paid for the hours they work - I work 168 had a wk

i can't claim carers allowance as i have a small rent on a flat i own even tho' i'm the main carer for my mum with advanced dementia & i cannot take a job because I need to be here for my mum. I save the council a lot of money looking after my mum as she would need to go into a home if I didn't care for her.

Make care providers to give realistic commitments on what they can deliver

I also feel carers should be recognised as a profession.

Unpaid Carers to receive training and recognition for the invaluable work provided and a proper wage. I care for two people full time but can only receive one allowance. This is wrong.

All mps to be put on universal credit for 6 months

For unpaid carers to receive and be applicable for the same fund and grants as those claiming benefits (jsa, universal credit, tax credits)

Although my staffs wages will be going up soon, after a review, there is a delay due to not enough people to do the reviews, it needs to be implemented across the board review or not. Unpaid carers are given a pittance in benefits, this needs to be addressed

I seriously do not think you can separate the importance of any of the above. For the industry to work, all the above should be met to fix a completely broken system.

As a carer working 40 hours a week to get a manageable pay . To be able to survive carers need to be paid more than minimum wage to survive. Carers who work with me we kept covid out of our care building for over 2 years .

Government money given to councils for social care, to be ring fenced

All of the above

As someone caring for a spouse I am not qualified to say.

Councils will need to be supported with increased wages

I also agree that carers should be recognized as healthcare professionals. Social care underpins the NHS and it's vital we make caring a more attractive career oportunity.

I am looking after my parents, I can only speak as I find. I know I’m on call 24 hours a day seven days a week for both of my parents in the air. I get £69.70 and that just doesn’t seem fair if I wasn’t there they would be kind of left on their own

more help for carers caring for someone 100% of the time with no time off for themselve

Carers should also become a recognized healthcare professional

Increase wages to daycare and respite centres

ALL of the above.

Every day is a struggle financially

More facilities for supported living

Recognition as a heathcare professional

There is no help or early intervention provided by Nhs, we have to provide care because our children healthcare needs are not met.

Carers should get a decent living wage. This would give carers more time to look after loved ones thus freeing up hospital beds and going some way to solving the social care crisis!

Carers need to be paid more than living wage and need to be recognised as part healthcare proffession

Unable to pay energy bills ..suicidal

Pay council tax and rent

Many thanks some carers I know for looking deaf people

Also, more people into the profession and for carers to become a recognised health care profession.

Lower tax rates

Some reward for family carers

Carers to get money for each person they care for and support package to enable the cared ones that they have social opportunities too for their specific needs

Carers receiving state pension should still be awarded Carers Allowace

Ensure mental health treatment services are available instead of leaving the carer just to get on with it.

Carers need to be properly paid and trained

The fact that am not on benifits i cant get any financial help i was under the impression it was not means tested

Entitlement to time to care for own physical and mental health.

It takes a special person to be a carer you have to be kind have empathy and emotion intelligent so you understand each person you care for is an entire individual and to keep them personal centred care

Full sickness pay paid by employers.

Carer are often overlook by Society as been not worthy and a poor

Make caring like national service whereby every student must sign up to a set peu of of caring of a sort that suits them

More Help for aging carers, of family member who needs care.

Sometimes carers have other members in the family with disabilities and those carers who work, have to support their relatives who cannot manage in emergencies, like dental care, broken appliances etc.

People who are carers for adults with autism and family members should get more benefits help

Showing the last 50 answers

I’m struggling to find a safe job.

Retail

carers element of UC unpaid carer

N/a

Unpaid Carer on Carers Allowance - but have that deducted from my Universal Credit (because I am disabled)

Unemployed

Self employed Microprovider.

Employed but not a cater

£69 as sole income makes every aspect of life tough and exhausting , unpaid carers are made to feel unvalued and exhaustion is deemed thier success criteria. The government need to wake up and realise £1.26 an hour for 40+ hours is an insult

Unpaid carer finally receiving carer’s allowance after years of caring. Also caring for both of my parents but can only receive one carers allowance.

Secondary school Teacher

Paid Carer by local Council

I am a carer for 95 yr old father-in-law. I get my pension so no longer receive carers allowance. My daughter lives in supported living which is currently on a knife edge and only working due to a new Care provider after the old one failed, and very, very didecated staff who work inspite of hours and shortages and poor pay.

Companies making profits.. I work with very challenging behaviour, still paid the same as none challenging behaviour very unfair

Employed full time but supporting family members in need of support

Now retired but until 10 years ago was an unpaid Carer, caring for 70+ hours per week receiving the then £54 Carers allowance.

Employed in NHS

I am about to take my personal pension so I can stop my self employment and care for my father and myself.

Employed. Not allowed to say where.

Carers allowance and self employed. Cap on earnings or I loose my allowance.

Carer to my child

Working full time and caring for Non verbal SEN child with ASD

Both a Carer pay through direct payments and a parent carer.

Its my Daughter a Carer

Self employed

Working full-time just about

I was a carer for my Mum.

Retired, carer for my wife

Retired so receive no financial support for caring

I am a person on carers allowance who is struggling with bills at the moment to the point where I may have to give up my caring roll and seek employment

Part time employment only 12 hours as carers would stop.

Self employed gardener

Carer for mum

Retiredhhhh

Employed full time in NHS but dont earn enough to pay bills

British Sign Language teacher

Full time

OT returning to work after death of one of the people are cared for

I was a carer to my mother but because I received a state pension l had to manage on this and was not able to claim anything else. My pension barred me.

Education

Unpaid carer

Carer for my mum

I work 32 hours a week in retail so am classed as earning too much for financial help so unfair as I’m the primary carer

Also an unpaid cater for husband who is poorly not enough breaks or time off to recharge my batteries

I get carers allowance but that is all the money I have coming in to live on this Universal credit is bs I look after 3 people but get one allowance

Pendioner

Former unpaid carer of a family member

Full time manager of care home and I care for my elderly mum with alzeimers

Not entitled to carer's allowance as get State penskon

Disability

Showing the last 50 answers

I would like to see them do 2 jobs and only get one wage . I am so tired

I would like to see them do 2 jobs and only get one wage . I am so tired

As I am in full time employment I get no help ie carers allowance. I would love to have the money to take my mother on holiday for a week. or treat her to a restaurant on one evening. Working full time a) means no financial help b) no time to attend workshops/support groups. Government should allow one day a week off for full time carers to be able to attend such events. That way I can be more proactive not just reactive. For example I would to be able to attend mental health training but it was during the week. or attend a workshop on energy saving ideas.

Life is hard as an unpaid Carer, made worse by lack of recognition and pay

I care for two adults at different locations and a child. All I have from social services RBKC is harassment to use a care provider at the ridiculously low rate per hour offered by RBKC. This means that one of my vulnerable, blind and hard of hearing relatives is expected to let different carers into her home unaware of who they are! This was the case when we had commissioned care in RBKC. Our refusal to accept this resulted in the Healthvision, the commissioned care provider, discharging my loved one from their service, leaving them without care. The need for the same one or two regular carers, who are known to my loved ones, is not a consideration. There is a terrible stance, which is that social services wipe their hands of the person needing care, if a relative is on the scene. I have to look after two relatives at two different locations and try to maintain employment, within the contractual rights as a carer, as I cannot survive on the measly carers allowance. In short I feel as though I am being penalised rather than supported, made worse by the fact that I am viewed as a middle class, well-educated female, rather than a working class uneducated one, who must never challenge the appalling lack of service provided, which I do. I am fed up of having to fight for what I and my loved ones are supposedly entitled to.

I don't receive any financial support for my Dad. I have been looking after him for 11 years. Someone should be looking out for him, other than me.

having to employ a fairly decent company with mainly decent carer's we are having to pay nearly as much again out of our hard earned savings for the care we recieve

I have cared for my daughter, she was born with Tetrasomy X. She is now 27 ...and cannot be left on her own at all. I need help from Social services, for a buddy as she cannot be let out by herself. I get no time to myself.....and I can only keep lily safe. If she is with myself or an appropriate adult.

By giving a proper living wage it will encourage more people to become carers

I am a carer for 2 of my children who have severe disabilities. Before they became disabled, I had a career in a well paid profession. Now I have to rely on benefits and it is very demoralising. I am not allowed to save more than £6000 or it will affect my benefits. I am unable to save for a deposit for a house, am unlikely to ever be able to afford a mortgage, therefore my family is trapped in poverty. I don't feel like my caring responsibilities are valued or appreciated. I am seen by society as a "scrounger". If I went back to work and put my children into care it would cost the local authority thousands, so why is it deemed acceptable to pay me a pittance on Carer's Allowance?

I work full time, I care nearly the same amount of hours, yet I get no help, recognition or financial help

I have been suicidal since 2015 due to exhaustion & frustration from Caring Duties. All services know this but do nothing. The LA Safeguarding Team - refuse to investigate the failure of CCG to fund assessed care needs of my sons. I now have Complex-PTSD caused directly by services who have knowingly & deliberately gaslit, & subjected myself & sons to proven Organisational/Institutional Abuse for now 10 yrs. I would welcome the opportunity to present my evidence directly to the Business, Energy & Industrial Strategy Committee.

Carers allowance is an insult to all unpaid carers providing care. For 35 hours care the rate works out at less than £2 per hour, longer hours spent caring educes this rate even further. Considering unpaid carers save the Govt. £Billions it's about time carers allowance was increased to reflect current costs of living

I love my daughter with every bone in my body but caring for her I can’t get another job to be able to get more money for us to help pay the bills

My life was very full before I took on the role of carer for my mum.

I am out of the workplace due to caring responsibilities this affects my standard of living and ability to save a private pension. Carers and disabled people should have no maximum on the amount they can save in a private pension how else can they plan for an uncertain future. Unpaid carers save the Government significant money, if the carers can’t cope financially the people they care for go into residential care at great expense.

All the points you have mention need to be addressed by the Government remembering that they will all become old or infirm one day .

Considering the UK is a very wealthy country it feels like we are forgotten about. Christmas will be difficult this year due to the cost-of-living crisis for those of us on meager benefits, but the MP's will be living in luxury comparatively.

The feeling of being utterly alone without access to help or training or respite of any kind is draining as this job is literally 24/7 12 months of the year. We need recognition, training and access to proper support and wages as well as the need for a fully funded properly run NHS and social care body run as the NHS used to be run, in-house and not for profit.

Yes, my son is still a dependent despite being 20 but can not apply for universal credit even though he is a full time student in a non-advanced course and this has to change. He needs to be able to have access to free prescriptions, eye tests and dental care as I'm his carer but cannot afford it now so much of my support for him has stopped. This is discrimination and a total lack of understanding as to what is needed.

I am a carer for my son. No one would ever wish to be in this position but sadly we are and I am unable to work because of my son's life limiting disability and the level of care he requires. Some extra support particularly in relation to aspecial dispensation with energy and heating costs would make such a difference. Again, no one would ever wish for their child to rely on medical equipment but when your child does you have no choice but to keep machines running and keep the house warm. It is literally a matter of life and death. The cost of living crisis makes an already difficult situation even harder.

Being an unpaid carer claiming carers allowance and universal credit is so difficult. There’s no break from it (caring for a family member) and we don’t have a choice in it……it has to be done. The amount that we’re paid is too little to live on, I can’t pay all my bills and I can’t buy my groceries. Like I said I have no choice, so it’s just not fair that I’m not paid enough to live on. It’s really affecting my mental health.

As they are all super rich, and don't care about anything other than lining their pockets at our expense, nothing will change, it will just get worse. And when we have nothing left to loose or life becomes too hard, then we will all be kicking off and wrecking the place, because what have we to lose? Nothing! We are already suffering, now rishi sunak, a super rich globalist who spent half a million on a swimming pool for his house while we all had hosepipe bans, is going to put our taxes up and incomes down. All of Westminster should be dragged out and shot.

The private care sector is not fit for purpose, it is failing the most vulnerable in society

I have had to do jobs meant for statutory bodies which has impacted tremendously in my life causing Ill health. I wish that people within healthcare/council/DWP/utilities would all do their jobs properly

As a carer to my son working a job is extremely difficult and stressful due to the fact I need to be on call to him 24/7 I get carers allowance but it is peanuts compared to a job which I would happily do if I didn’t have transport worries and all the other worries you have as a SEN parent. We should be paid minimum wage we didn’t chose this life life chose us and we have to make fight for everything we get and we are finding more and more gets taken away. We are the first for all the cuts and we have the most pressure and stress in our lives

The fact carers allowance is taken back through universal credit deductions is disgusting.

Being a parent is exhausting work for very little financial support and very little professional support. Better funding is needed desperately

Please help us, the industry is on its knees. Carers are in short supply and churn is high! We rely on carers so my partner can work, we will be further more plunged into poverty unless a recruitment drive s initiated. It would also be beneficial for the LA to become the employers for DP work. They can create full time/PT jobs for carers whereas we just have a few hours a week, meaning even less chance of getting staff in because it's very niche!

Earning £67 per week working 24/7 caring for a loved one is saving billions for the government. We should not only get recognition in payment but also in our titles.

It is very frustrating that with 3 disabled children I can only be classed as an unpaid carer and recieve carers allowance for one of the children and not all of my children. They are beautiful children but they are also such hard work and it is draining.

Nhs are allowed to strike but our company said if we strike we will be sacked . So much for freedom of speech .

My pension should not be classed as a benefit, I worked for it and contributed, I should be able to claim carer’s allowance as well.

We do 12 hour shift and now we have these things called spot beds were we have as little as 2 hours notice for a ambulance to turn up at our home with residents and they could have no background paper work and we have to take them and we haven't got the staff for this am a senior care worker ok nightshift I have 2 full floors of medications to do whilst doing one floor am having to leave a floor unsafe with one carer on it its really stressful

Staffing levels have always been a problem but now are at dangerously low levels a lot of the time. The residents don't get the care they should be getting,which affects them physically and mentally. The same goes for the overworked and underpaid staff..morale at an all time low..good carers leaving in droves. Our elderly deserve so much better.

I am registered as a full time carer for my partner who has significant mental health issues and is currently in full remission from T-cell lymphoma. Carer's allowance reduces the amout of benefits he is in receipt of and so I am effectively receiving only the 'disregarded' amount - this does little to cover things like transporting BOTH of us to hospital appointments and such. Nor does it allow for anything regarding respite. In addition, because I am an unpaid carer, I face significant prejudice for being 'just another scrounger'. Recognise unpaid carers as working people and offer them the dignity our society affords everyone else.

We get £69 a week to look after our disabled daughter and I would like to ask how much money we are saving the councils per week by not having them in care ,surely pay is more money paying us a decent wage and also when we turn 65 our carers allowance is taken away as we can’t get our pension money as well as carers allowance so who is going to pay to look after our disabled daughter then? ?

Carers allowance just is not enough! Especially when you have got bills to pay out shopping to get & if that’s all you receive!

Since my partner became disabled, we’ve had to use up all of our savings, and start selling our own sentimental things to make ends meet. I don’t know how we will keep going.

As I'm a pensioner my carers allowance stopped but I still have to carry on. I am not in good health and never get respite when I need it? So I miss out on holidays with my children and grandchildren. I look after my brother and I am tired.

I pay my daughters’s respite carers the living wage by direct payment. I look after her the majority of the time and carers allowance isn’t even as much as £10 per day

Give unpaid Carers enough to cover a minimum wage as so many have to give up work to care for loved ones. Bring paid Carers under a profession that provides proper training and a pay structure to reflect this. Caring is a job that requires expert knowledge such as Dementia, Autism, L D, etc why do we expect to get this care when all that is on offer in many cases is a week tracking a fellow Carer. There needs to be a proper professional career pathway that allows Carers to progress.

Carers play a vital role in supporting vulnerable adults and children but the role, mainly undertaken by women, is significantly undervalued and unrecognised for its societal contribution.

Mental and physical health support for unpaid carers

Carers need to be paid better. Unpaid carers should be paid the minimum wage for 35 hours, not the pittance Carer's Allowance stands at. Paid carers should have better rates of pay and employment conditions and should pay less taxes.

My parents have worked on national service and it seems to me if I didn’t do the caring who would I have saved a lot of money to the government by doing the 24 hour care that I do with fuel prices and the cost of living. It’s horrendous at the moment.

When you care for someone with a mental illness it is a double blow because this sector is also dangerously underfunded and there is still so much stigma attached. The work is difficult and there is no support.

If they don't sort out social care such that carers both want and can afford to stay in the profession it'll bring down both social care and the NHS. Also unpaid carers are burning out from lack of support and being starved like other benefits claimants but often can't get a paid job or can't do enough hours at one because of their massive unpaid job that is not voluntary these days- its often that or no care at all for the person they care for

The fuel to home care has to be subsidiary

That once someone is recognised as needing support from a partner then the the person line me should be paid a wage had to give up a high paid job to support my partner we I had to take early retirement so lost our money have a small works pension can’t claim any other benefits and applied for attendance allowance and it’s not easy to manage on low income have to dip in to savings