All about caring

A carer is anybody who looks after a family member, partner or friend who needs help because of their illness, frailty or disability. All the care they give is unpaid.

Many carers don't see themselves as carers. It takes carers an average of two years to acknowledge their role as a carer. It can be difficult for carers to see their caring role as separate from the relationship they have with the person they care for, whether that relationship is as a parent, a son or daughter, or a friend.

It’s likely that every one of us will have caring responsibilities at some time in our lives. Figures for 2006 from the Office for National Statistics suggest the population will steadily become older, with the numbers in the oldest age bands increasing the fastest.

There are around six million carers in the UK, but with more of us living longer and having age-related illnesses and disability, that figure will certainly rise.

Who are carers?

Julie Hill is a typical carer, but people from all backgrounds become carers. Watch Julie's video below to find out more about a typical carer's story. Women are more likely to be carers than men, making up 58% of all carers, according to the 2001 Census. Most carers are in the 50-59 age bracket, but many young people also become carers. There were nearly 175,000 carers under the age of 18 in 2001.

The University of Leeds carried out research for Carers UK in 2007, and found that 17.5% of carers were from ethnic minorities or non-white groups, 22% lived in rural areas and, of those of working age, 36% said they were struggling financially.

A briefing for the charity reports that people from black, Asian and minority ethnic groups make up over 30% of London’s carers. People from Bangladeshi and Pakistani communities are more than twice as likely to become carers as the general population.

Pratibha Chohan, a development worker for Tameside Carers Centre, says strong family and cultural ties among these groups explain the figures.

“The majority are closely linked to their families so they rely on them for support rather than asking for services,” she says. “Asians don’t class themselves as carers. They say: 'It is my role to look after my husband or my son'. At the Tameside Centre we are trying to help them realise that they do class as a carer and that they can access the services everyone is entitled to."

Figures on the number of gay carers are based on estimates of the number of gay people in the population, which is put at 5-13%. Based on a figure of six million carers, if 5% were gay, this would mean there were around 300,000 gay carers in the UK.

Juggling responsibilities

The challenges faced by carers take many forms. Many carers juggle their caring responsibilities with work, study and other family commitments. Some, in particular younger carers, are not known to be carers. They don't tell relatives, friends or social services about their responsibilities because of fear of separation, guilt, pride or other reasons.

Young people from black and ethnic minority communities face particular challenges in accessing help and services. The 2001 Census shows that young people from Asian communities are twice as likely to have a caring role compared with those from a white European background.

People being cared for also vary in age, disability and relationship to their carer. The 2000 General Household Survey found that many people were caring for parents or their spouse. Most were looking after older people, with 70% of those being cared for over the age of 65. It found that 62% of carers care for someone with a physical disability, and 18% look after someone with both a physical and mental disability.

This means that the sort of roles and responsibilities that carers have to provide varies hugely. They can range from help with everyday tasks such as getting out of bed and personal care such as bathing, to emotional support such as helping someone cope with the symptoms of a mental illness.