News & campaigns
Give carers
a break
The 2017 State of Caring survey
has revealed that despite the
desire for a break, one in four
carers has not had a day off
caring for more than five years.
A break doesn’t have to be
a week off in the sun, or an
expensive holiday, just a break
These words tell a common
story we hear over and over
again as carers: “I tried and
tried. I’ve not had respite
since my son was 18, he is
now 25.”
This is not a simple issue.
Some of us provide complex
care that takes a whole
team of professionals to
match. Those of us caring
for children have to trust
services to provide the same
level of care and attention
that we provide. Whether
the obstacles to a break are
cost related, due to a lack
of sufficient care options or
the quality of care available,
it is simply not right that
16
so many carers are unable
to take a break. Of more
than 6,000 current carers
who completed our survey,
those who had not taken
a break in a year or more
reported deterioration in
their health mentally (73%)
and physically (65%). This
is of little surprise to us.
Working long hours under
normal circumstances is
considered bad for our
health, but if the work we’re
doing throws physical and
mental challenges at us all
day, keeps us from pursuing
our own friendships and
hobbies, then there’s even
more need for down time.
“I’ve not had respite
since my son was 18,
he is 25 now”
Taking a break was what most
carers said would make a
difference to improving their
health and wellbeing.
Our survey showed that it’s
even harder to get more than
a day’s break from caring.
While 40% of carers haven’t
had a day off from caring
for more than a year, the
figure jumped to 58% when
considering a whole weekend
off, and 73% of carers have
not had a week off for over a
year. The funds and services
that should be available for us
carersuk.org