Unpaid Carers

THE QUIET HEROES : Carers' unpaid work saves the state £87bn but many put their own health at risk to fulfil their duties, a recent survey revealed.

Six million people in the UK look after a sick, frail or disabled relative, partner or friend and a Leeds University study calculates they save the government billions of pounds in NHS treatment and home help.
three-quarters of carers (77%) believed their own health had suffered as a result of their responsibilitiesalmost a fifth (19%) ignored feeling ill "all the time"of almost 2,000 people polled, more than two-thirds said they had put off seeing a doctor because they had too little time65% said their own health problems had affected their ability to care96% said they were "very concerned" about who would take over if they fell ill.

Many other carers reported feeling isolated:
seven out of 10 had not had a week's holiday or free time in the past year64% said they were sometimes unable to cope.

“Words and hearts should be handled with care for words when spoken and hearts when broken are the hardest things to repair.”

Unknown

“Life, misfortunes, isolation, abandonment, poverty, are battlefields which have their heroes; obscure heroes, sometimes greater than the illustrious heroes”

Victor Hugo

“A friend is a hand that is always holding yours, no matter how close or far apart you may be. A friend is someone who is always there and will always, always care. A friend is a feeling of forever in the heart.”

Unknown

Unpaid carers are our unsung heroes. Their tireless and unpaid work benefits others who are less needy by saving the government over a billion pounds per year to spend on those others. This sacrifice is recognised by not rewarded and this is gross treatment in the extreme.

Gary Bland

“What is a minority? The chosen heroes of this earth have been in a minority. There is not a social, political, or religious privilege that you enjoy today that was not bought for you by the blood and tears and patient suffering of the minority. It is.”

Unknown

“That's what it takes to be a hero, a little gem of innocence inside you that makes you want to believe that there still exists a right and wrong, that decency will somehow triumph in the end”

Lise Hand

HELP THE HEROES

The people who are willing to die for the country such as the armed services, and the often unsung heroes such as the unpaid carers seem to suffer when they need our support and gratitude; we need to help these people where we can.
I would like to see large council properties with a full time resident carer living in the area or ideally on an estategive full time unpaid carers a break twice a year for a week professional full time carer to train the unpaid carer