NEWS
INADEQUATE SUPPORT FROM HEALTH SERVICES DAMAGING CHANCES OF UK’S CARERS, SAYS CARERS WEEK PARTNERSHIP
The life chances of many of the 6.5 million people in the UK who care, unpaid, for a disabled, older or ill family member or friend, are being damaged by inadequate support from health services, according to research launched for this months’ Carers Week 2016.
The research found that full time carers are twice as likely to be in bad health as non-carers.
Over half of carers said their GP practice has not informed them about how they can get practical support as a carer, and 45% said their GP does not offer an annual health check for carers.
Two in five carers surveyed said they haven’t received any training or
ASTHMA HOSPITAL ADMISSIONS LINKED TO POOR GENERAL PRACTICE ACCESS, SAYS UNIVERSITY
OF EAST ANGLIA Asthma sufferers with poor access to primary care are more likely to experience an emergency hospital admission, according to University of East Anglia research.
New findings published show that asthma sufferers with better access to primary care experience less emergency hospital admissions.
Lead researcher Dr Robert Fleetcroft from UEA’s Norwich Medical School said: “Asthma is a very common condition which affects more than five million people in the UK. Occasionally it can become life threatening and lead to emergency hospital admission.
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information to help keep them well and a quarter admitted they struggle to attend their own health tests, check- ups and specialist appointments.
21% said their hospital does not recognise their caring role.
The research indicated that this lack of support from local health services causes barriers for carers to maintain a healthy lifestyle.
More than half have let a health problem go untreated and seen a deterioration in their mental health.
Over a third have physically injured themselves whilst caring and only get help with their own health issues when it’s an emergency.
When carers are supported by their community, they are three times more likely to be able to maintain a healthy lifestyle. However, only a minority of carers say they actually feel valued and recognised by their community (26%).
Emily Holzhausen, who leads the Carers Week partnership, said: “If carers aren’t supported to care well
“Up to 90% of deaths and 70% of emergency admissions with asthma are associated with potentially preventable factors.
“We studied the relationship between access to primary care and rates of hospital admission to see whether there was a link.”
The research team studied patient data of over three million asthma sufferers across 7,806 practices in England.
They compared data on emergency admissions with access to primary care as detailed in the GP Patient Survey – a sample of five million patients.
The team also looked at variables including the size of practice, whether the area was classed as deprived, the age, ethnicity and gender of the population, and the distance of the practice from the nearest hospital by road.
When looking at access to primary care, they took into account
for themselves and their loved ones, they will be more likely to be unable to continue caring. If this happens, not only will the consequences for carers and their families be huge, but the NHS and public services will be forced to step in. With NHS and local authority budgets already stretched to their limits, this could put them under immeasurable pressure.
“When carers are supported by their communities, they are three times more likely to always be able to maintain a healthy lifestyle. We understand that greater investment in health and social care services from all Governments across the UK is vital, but for Carers Week, we are urging health and care services and professionals to look how they can improve the way they support carers today.”
Carers Week is made possible by Carers UK joining forces with Age UK, Carers Trust, Independent Age, Macmillan Cancer Support, Motor Neurone Disease Association and MS Society.
variables including whether patients could get through on the phone, and whether they were able to book appointments.
Dr Robert Fleetcroft added: “We found 55,570 asthma-related emergency admissions and a strong link between poor access to care and higher amounts of admissions. Practices that provided better access to care had fewer emergency admissions for asthma.
“We found that for every 10% improvement in access there was a 32% reduction in emergency admissions. This is really important because there’s a significant risk of death for anyone making an emergency trip to hospital with asthma.
“We also found that emergency admissions were greater in areas where higher proportions of the population were white. Other studies have found this to be the case generally for total hospital emergency admissions.”
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