About carers Facts and figures Facts and figures NUMBER OF UNPAID CARERS Gateshead 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%. The number of carers is still increasing; in the last 10 years the total number of carers in Gateshead has increased by 5.1%. (Census 2011) UK Wide There are 8.8 million adult carers in the UK - There are huge personal and financial costs to providing unpaid care for a loved one and estimates that there could now be a large increase in the number of unpaid carers compared to 6.3 million carers recorded in the 2011 Census. 1 in 8 adults are Carers! FINANCIAL PRESSURE Carers save the economy £132 billion per year - This means on average, one carer saves the economy £19,336 per year. 2 in 5 carers say they are struggling to make ends meet - More than half (53%) of all carers who are receiving Carer's Allowance say they are struggling to make ends meet. Additionally, 53% of all carers are unable to save for retirement. HEALTH AND WELLBEING 72% of carers said they had suffered mental ill health - People providing high levels of care are twice as likely to be permanently sick or disabled and 61% reported having physical ill health as a result of caring. 81% of all carers reported having felt lonely or isolated as a result of their caring role - As a result, carers are nearly twice as anxious as the general population and on average placed their level of happiness at 4.7 out of 10 compared with a population average of 7.5. WORKING CARERS Roughly 600 people every day have to give up work to provide care - In the past two years nearly half a million people had to stop working to provide care. PRACTICAL SUPPORT WITH CARING 1 in 8 carers reported that they or those they support received less care or support services during the previous year due to a reduction in the amount of support from social services - As such, 90% of carers don't know what might happen to the practical support they receive in the future or worry that it might be reduced. CARER'S ASSESSMENTS Only 27% of carers in England reported that they had an assessment or a review of their assessment in the last 12 months. SUPPORT FOR EMERGENCIES AND CONTINGENCY PLANNING Only 1 in 6 carers discussed their caring role with an NHS professional - The discussions were between the carer and an NHS professional such as a GP or a nurse, about the person they care for deteriorates or they are no longer able or willing to provide care for them.