⚠️ Storm Caregiver is here!

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Caring for Gateshead

Out of the 197,000 people living in Gateshead, around 25,000 of them have an unpaid caring role. This means almost 1 in every 8 people living in Gateshead are unpaid carers (12.7%). This is higher than the national average of 9%.

We describe the countless amount of hours spent caring for our loved ones as unpaid, however, there are many costs. Being a carer has a of a person's physical, mental, and financial health. Unpaid carers contribute a staggering £162 billion to the UK economy per year - that's equivalent to the entire annual budget for the NHS.

With unpaid caring having such a prominent role in Gateshead's society, we would expect that most carers would feel recognised and valued by the statutory services in place, however, our 2023 Carer Survey found that;

• 66% of carers said they do not feel recognised and valued by their GP and health services.

• 72% of carers said they do not feel recognised and valued by Gateshead Council.

• 91% of carers said they do not feel recognised and valued by the Government.

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