CARING IS EVERYBODY'S BUSINESS

People Are Caring For Longer ⏳

75% provide care for over 35 hours per week.
50% provide care for over 100 hours per week.
Carers are getting older with 83% aged over 51 years old.

The average 18 year old will spend 12 years of the rest of their life providing unpaid care.

More People Are Caring 👨‍👩‍👧‍👦

60% of Gateshead's population will be an unpaid carer at some point in their lives.
55% of carers said it took them over 1 year before they first saw themselves as an unpaid carer.

Out of the 202,500 people in Gateshead, over 22,000 residents recognise themselves as unpaid carers. This represents 11.1% of Gateshead’s population which is above the national average of 10.6%. (Census 2011)

Caring Affects Physical Health ❤

47% of carers reported having a disability or long-standing illness.
55% of carers stated that their disability or long-standing illness affects or limits how much they provide care

Caring Affects Mental Health 🧠

Carers reported that their mental health has suffered due to their caring role - Males 38%, Females 42%.
50% of carers do not feel recognised or valued.

Carers Are Twice as Likely to be Unemployed 💼

10% of carers describe themselves as unemployed which is double that of Gateshead's general unemployment figure of 5%

There Are Gender Differences in Caring 👫

66% of unpaid carers are female and 34% are male.
The majority of men provide care only for their partner whereas women are significantly more likely to be caring for children, siblings, parents, as well as their partner. 

Women who provide unpaid care are three times more likely to be in part-time employment 61% than men 22%. Women are also significantly more likely to miss out on promotions and training in employment because of their caring role.

Unpaid Carers have a huge impact on the economy 💷

Unpaid carers contribute a staggering estimate of £162 billion per year. That's around £445 million every day (Petrillo and Bennet, 2023).

The value of unpaid care is equivalent to a second NHS in England and Wales, which in 2020/21 received an estimated £164 billion in funding (Petrillo and Bennet 2023).

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Caring is everybody's business! Is this the life you or your partner, parents, children, siblings, and friends want to have? 

What can you or your organisation do to support unpaid carers? How can we help?

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Health & Social Care Services

GP Surgeries 🩺

74% of carers have never been asked by their GP or other staff at their surgery if they are a carer.
Of the 26% asked, a female (27%) is close to three times more likely to be asked if they are caring for someone than a male (11%).

Carer Assessments ✅

Of the small minority (5%) who have had a Carer Assessment 33% of respondents only waited 1-4 weeks for a Carer Assessment, a further 33% waited for over 1 year.

Male unpaid carers (55%) were more likely to get a Carer Assessment within 6 months than female unpaid carers (46%).

Emergency Support ❗

71% of carers are not aware of the Emergency Support Service (up from 68% in 2017).
Of the 29% who are aware of the scheme, there is a significant difference in awareness with 37% of males aware of it compared to 22% females.

Planning 💭

61% do not have plans in place for the person they care for if they should fall ill or are unable to continue to provide care (64% in 2017).
36% of carers said the person they care for had a needs assessment within the last 12 months (43% in 2017).
In 2017, those stating that a needs assessment last took place over 4 years ago was 10% - this has nearly doubled to 19% in 2020.

Carers Report Reductions in Social Care Services 📉

This table shows the percentage of carers who have reported a reduction in specific social care services.

Service	2017	2020
Social Worker Support	13.5%	30%
Respite	10%	30%
Day Care Services	5%	27%
Health Services Support	10%	25%
Motability	3%	21%
Care Assistance	5%	19%

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How can I help unpaid carers in Gateshead?

There are lots of ways you can support the thousands of unpaid carers in Gateshead.

• Donate if you can
• Volunteer your time
• Like, Share, Comment, and enjoy our content
• Fundraise for us

Download the latest facts

Adult Carers of 2020 Infographic (.PDF)

Health & Social Care 2020 Infographic (.PDF)

2020 Annual Report Summary (.PDF) - Contains all of the information on our impact in 2020.

2020 Carer Survey Full Report (.PDF) - Contains an in-depth look and analysis of our findings from the 2020 Carer Survey.

2020 Carer Survey Presentation (.PDF) - Contains all of the slides used in the AGM live stream on our 2020 Carer Survey findings.