Unpaid carers

The West Wales Strategic Plan for Unpaid Carers 2025 to 2030 explains the role of an unpaid carer as:

“Someone (including young carers) who provides care and support to family members or friends who would struggle to manage without their help.”

This may include those who are ill, frail, disabled; experiencing mental health challenges or substance misuse issues[PM3] .

There is no such thing as a 'typical unpaid carer'—each caring role is unique and shaped by individual circumstances. Therefore, the data available at any given point may not be a true reflection of the number of people providing unpaid care, as many of them may not identify themselves as such.

Early identification and self-identification of unpaid carers is vital to ensure they access the right help and support at the right time, as well as maintain their own health, well-being and independence.

Support for unpaid carers in West Wales is driven through the West Wales Carers Development Group (WWCDG), a formal sub-group of the West Wales Regional Partnership Board (RPB) and a partnership between Hywel Dda University Health Board, the three Local Authorities of Carmarthenshire, Ceredigion and Pembrokeshire, Third and Voluntary sector organisations and representatives of service users and unpaid carers in West Wales.

The following information from the West Wales Carers Strategic Plan for Unpaid Carers 2025-2030 shows some of the key facts and figures for Wales and West Wales:

Data from the Office of National Statistics illustrates that the number of people aged over 85 in Wales is projected to increase by 27.8% by 2031, whereas the working aged population is projected to fall by 3.1% over the same period.

According to Welsh Government (2024), two thirds of adults over the age of 65 years are expected to be living with multiple health conditions by 2035 and an increased life expectancy means that people spend longer living with multiple conditions, with little change in healthy life expectancy. This is likely to impact on the support needed from families and friends.

Social Care Wales estimates that by 2037 the percentage of unpaid carers in Wales is expected to increase to 16% of the population. These figures demonstrate the importance of continuing to identify and support unpaid carers in West Wales.

73% of people in Wales think that the role of unpaid carers is not valued by the general public – the highest in the UK with only one in five people (22%) thinking unpaid carers are valued (cw-2022-make-caring-visible-valued-and-supported-report_final_web.pdf)

In 2024 the WWCDG engaged with unpaid carers, with input from relevant support organisations, to find out ‘what mattered to them’. Engagement was primarily undertaken via a survey, with the aim of the exercise being to improve outcomes for unpaid carers in West Wales. Some of the survey results are listed below:

Carers most frequently stated the following type of support would help them in their caregiving responsibilities are: 

• More respite care options
• Stronger support network, from carers in similar situations and employment 
• Improved advice and guidance

1. Current work and important initiatives in the West Wales Region

A full breakdown of the work that is being carried out in West Wales under the guidance of the WWCDG can be found in annual reports produced by the group. These annual reports provide full details on all the actions and programmes delivered through the unpaid carer programmes by WWCDG. 

2. Current support services

A range of care and support services are in place across the region to support unpaid carers. Some services are commissioned individually by statutory bodies and others are jointly commissioned on a county or regional basis. The WWCDG provides a key forum for partnership working between the commissioning bodies and ensures collaboration on the development of plans for utilisation of Welsh Government grant funding, e.g. Regional Integration Fund, Carers’ Breaks etc.

The West Wales Carers’ Development Group (WWCDG) has been able to coordinate several important pieces of work, including:

• Continued roll-out of the Investors in Carers’ Scheme, increasing the awareness of professionals across sectors including primary, community and acute health care, schools, libraries, social care, Job Centre Plus and third sector organisations of the needs of carers. Over 170 settings are currently are working towards their award. The scheme also enables unpaid carers  a referral to the local Carers’ Information Service which can provide additional information, advice and support
• Deployment of Carers Officers (employed by the third sector) within general and community hospitals to support health professionals to identify unpaid carers, improve their involvement in the discharge process and provide information and support
• Roll-out of the Employers for Carers (EfC) scheme   across HDdUHB and the Local Authorities of Ceredigion and Pembrokeshire until March 2026,  providing access to a range of resources for statutory and third sector partners. This has enabled organisations to review policies and procedures through anunpaid carers’ lens and offer practical support to employees with caring responsibilities through the introduction of initiatives such as carers passports and staff networks
• Various digital inclusion initiatives to assist unpaid carers.

3. Support and Care Services

In addition to the programmes of work carried out under the WWDCG funded Welsh Government grant programmes, there are also several support and care services available to unpaid carers which are commissioned by Hywel Dda UHB and Local Authorities from local providers including Voluntary  Sector providers These can be broadly broken down into services that support:

• Identification and recognition
• Advice and information
• Assessment of unpaid carers needs
• Practical support (for example replacement care or short breaks, help around the home, shopping)
• Advocacy
• Condition specific support for the unpaid carer and the person they care for.

Outcomes include :

The Gaps and Areas for improvement are comprehensive and reflect the engagement work undertaken to develop the West Wales Improving Lives for Carers Strategy published in 2021.

Impact of being an unpaid carer on well-being and mental health

Being an unpaid carer, whilst being inspiring and rewarding, can leave them feeling:

• Exhausted, isolated and in need of emotional support and counselling
• Concerned over the financial burden of being an unpaid carer and its effect on their employment
• They have lost the ability to maintain a balance between the caring role and work-life balance
• They have lost their identity beyond that of being a carer
• Their ‘voice’ is not well enough recognised
• The WWCDG Carers survey in 2024 revealed that 75% of former unpaid carers who took part in the survey felt that they had experienced a negative impact on their physical health and mental well-being due to their caring role.

Supporting the needs of unpaid carers

Self-identification of unpaid carers and identification and recognition of their role by health and social care professionals is vital to ensure that they access the right help and support at the right time, as well as maintain their own health, well-being and independence. Unpaid carers report says:

• There should be an improvement in the consistency of approach, information, advice and assistance provided across the region, within a more integrated system
• Information provided to unpaid carers needs to be reviewed to ensure it is current and relevant, more accessible and easier to find. Having a single point of contact to navigate the system would help people to identify relevant information and access the support to which they are entitled
• Access to appropriate respite/short breaks should ensure that it fits the needs of both the unpaid carer and the person they care for.
• Support is particularly difficult to source in rural areas
• The statutory carers needs assessment process can be challenging, often takes too long and unpaid carers needs are not always properly considered. Whilst it is recognised that not all unpaid carers need or want a statutory carers assessment, it is important that those that do, know how to apply and outcomes are reviewed to reflect changing needs or circumstances
• Response to the WWCDG Carers survey indicates that 81% of people had not had a Carer’s assessment or review of their assessment within the last 12-months
• 62% of those surveyed who had an assessment or review during the transition from children to adult services, felt that the assessment process and subsequent consideration of the care and support needs did not consider their needs properly.

Digital Inclusion and Technology

Digital connectivity has become even more important since the Covid-19 pandemic. Engagement events identified:

• Most people are using technology but not all. Efforts must be made to ensure technology is available to all and that digital inclusion (and training) as well as non-digital alternatives are offered
• Better use could be made of social media channels to identify and provide information to unpaid carers, particularly for young carers
• Technology could be used to make it easier for support staff to keep in regular contact with the unpaid carer to make sure they do not burn out.

The Carers Support West Wales (CSWW) website is in its third year and a steering group undertakes a regular review of the content to ensure that the one-stop shop website for unpaid carers: Carers Support West Wales | Cymorth Gofalwyr Gorllewin Cymru

Young People

The 2021 Census reported approximately 8,200 young carers in Wales, aged 5 to 17. However, Estyn (2019) highlighted that many secondary schools, colleges, and pupil referral units are unaware of which learners have a caring role at home, stressing the need to improve support and outcomes for young carers.

Many young carers and young adult carers fed back that their caring responsibilities mean:

• They struggle to have a break, are not seeing their friends and do not have their own space 
• They find it difficult to balance schoolwork, homework and their caring role and can feel stressed, worried and anxious at school, as they are away from the person that relies on them for care
• They may need extra support especially for their mental health and wellbeing.

Post COVID-19 response

In West Wales, the local authorities and voluntary  sector organisations have responded very well to the Covid-19 pandemic, quickly adapting their services and in some cases moving activities online.

For example, the Newport Carers group in Pembrokeshire went from meeting face-to-face to meeting on Zoom, supported by a Community Connector. As a result, the unpaid carers group became more accessible to unpaid carers across the County, attracting new unpaid carers looking for online peer support.

Another example is Ceredigion Carers Unit who provided a full programme of workshops, training and discussions around unpaid carers rights over six months of 2020-21.

All young carers services have continued to operate and adapted ways of working, utilising Zoom, WhatsApp and Microsoft Teams.

Regular contact has been maintained with young carers and their families to address issues.

All services have observed a decline in both young people’s and parents’ mental health over the year and services have responded by offering appropriate support.

References:

1. [6] https://phw.nhs.wales/publications/publications1/voices-of-carers-during-the-covid-19-pandemic-messages-for-the-future-of-unpaid-caring-in-wales/
2. [9] WWCDG-Annual-Report-2021-21-FINAL.pdf (wwcp.org.uk)