Discover and read the best of Twitter Threads about #RealCarersWeek
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#carersweek
A thread
#realcarersweek #unpaidcarers
If unpaid carers are being asked by professionals if they’ve thought about ending their life – then something is clearly wrong about the way unpaid carers are being treated 🧵
A thread
#realcarersweek #unpaidcarers
If unpaid carers are being asked by professionals if they’ve thought about ending their life – then something is clearly wrong about the way unpaid carers are being treated 🧵
When you became an unpaid carer did you realise you might struggle to get breaks, that you’d have to continue to work even when you felt unwell. Imagine knowing that you wouldn’t get a break from your job, that you had to work every day of the year, 24 hours a day regardless 🧵
The role does not come with any employment rights. We’ve the right to a carers assessment. At first, hopeful this assessment is the answer to our prayers & we will get help. But with a social care crisis worsening daily there’s often no carers to allow are rights to be met 🧵
I've been doing research on the needs & experiences of unpaid carers for 12 years, across four countries.
For #CarersWeek, a 🧵of the Top 5 messages that have consistently come out of every piece of research I've done:
For #CarersWeek, a 🧵of the Top 5 messages that have consistently come out of every piece of research I've done:
(1) Carers need respite. And that respite needs to be regular (weekly at a minimum) and fully funded.
(2) Carers want to stay in paid employment, but when that's not possible they need a Carer's Allowance (and/or other state support) that doesn't force them into poverty.
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(2) Carers want to stay in paid employment, but when that's not possible they need a Carer's Allowance (and/or other state support) that doesn't force them into poverty.
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(3) Carers need to be believed, trusted, and treated with respect by health, social care & education professionals.
(4) Carers need to be supported - emotionally & practically - by friends and family.
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(4) Carers need to be supported - emotionally & practically - by friends and family.
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#realcarersweek 1/
Carer poverty is increasing - as the benefit system is devastated; as care charges increase exponentially, as carers are forced to leave work to care, many find themselves struggling to afford the basic and subsidising care costs and paying for equipment.
Carer poverty is increasing - as the benefit system is devastated; as care charges increase exponentially, as carers are forced to leave work to care, many find themselves struggling to afford the basic and subsidising care costs and paying for equipment.
#realcarersweek 2/
Carer health is suffering - mental health, anxiety, physical pain, putting off their own health checks, often because there is no support to allow them to do this. Emergency planning to take account of carer needs/wellbeing is patchy at best.
Carer health is suffering - mental health, anxiety, physical pain, putting off their own health checks, often because there is no support to allow them to do this. Emergency planning to take account of carer needs/wellbeing is patchy at best.
#realcarersweek 3/ Where is the future planning? How are we planning for the future of disabled children and adults who may outlive their immediate family? The greatest fear of carers is what happens if they are no longer there to care for our loved ones.
