‘HIDDEN CARERS’… PHARMACY CARES
Prior to COVID-19, there were around 729,000 unpaid carers in Scotland. Now, a new initiative has been launched in Ayrshire & Arran to encourage community pharmacists to identify and support Scotland’s army of unpaid, ‘hidden’ carers….
T
he pandemic has increased this figure by almost 400,000, bringing this figure up to an amazing – and alarming – 1.1m unpaid
carers, with many of these ‘hidden’ carers picking up the slack for those, who were forced to shield during the pandemic – many of whom continue to do so.
Now, Scotland’s community pharmacists are being asked to help identify who these unpaid carers are, so that they can be signposted to the necessary care centres for support.
As in many cases, community pharmacy is perfect for identifying those in society, who may be ‘under the radar’ of healthcare services. The accessibility of community pharmacies, combined with the frequency with which many carers visit the pharmacy, means that many will have established relationships with their local pharmacy teams.
What is a carer? A carer is someone who, without payment, provides help and support to a partner, child,
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relative, friend or neighbour, who could not manage without their help, whether that is due to age, physical or mental illness, addiction, chronic illness, disability or dementia.
Being an unpaid carer is different to a home carer where they are paid to carry out care in someone’s home, and it is estimated that three in five people will become carers at some point in their lives.
Why is support needed for carers? Well, you only have to look at the results of a survey carried out by East Ayrshire Carers’ Centre to find out why: • 52 per cent said caring had affected their health
• 37 per cent said they were frightened of what the future holds
• 45 per cent said they wished they could run away from their caring role
• 70 per cent of older carers, aged 60-94, said it had affected their mental health
• 65 per cent said they had long-term health problems or a disability themselves
• 82 per cent admitted to providing emotional support such as staying in, feeling responsible, listening
• 48 per cent also had to carry out general caring such as dealing with medication, supporting mobility, etc.
• 68 per cent carry out domestic chores
Even more alarmingly, 66 per cent of Scotland’s 29,000 young carers said they had been bullied at school because of their caring role.
Now, community pharmacies across Ayrshire & Arran have been asked to help identify these carers so that the proper means of support and help can be provided to those affected by the issues listed above.
‘The group consists of representatives from East, South and North Ayrshire Carers Centres,’ says Fiona Robson, Joint CEO of East Ayrshire Carers Centre, ‘plus the Health and Social Care Partnerships from all Ayrshires and carers representatives.
SCOTLAND’S COMMUNITY PHARMACISTS ARE BEING ASKED TO HELP IDENTIFY WHO THESE UNPAID CARERS ARE
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