The current winter pressures affecting NI hospitals are truly horrendous. Patients, many of whom are frail and elderly, are presenting in extremely vulnerable conditions and waiting for hours for treatment.
When they arrive at Emergency Departments, they are being treated in corridors because there are simply no beds. Dignity is being sacrificed. Morale is on the floor. Unpaid carers attending hospital with sick relatives are looking on in horror because they cannot help or change the situation.
It is against this backdrop of a busted Health and Social Care system and year–round pressures that carers fight every day for information, services and support for the person they are caring for. They chase disjointed health systems all around the place. They fight for answers. They fight to be heard and recognised as the advocate for their child, father, mother, sister, or friend. They deal with extremely complicated advice, support and access pathways. They know the duty desk voices too well. They know the turnover of staff means they will have to start their campaign for timely and deserved access to support and services all over again. They are exhausted.
Therefore, is it any wonder that many carers in NI are suffering devastating issues relating to mental ill–health, chronic loneliness, deteriorating physical wellbeing and burnout. And yet despite feeling they are at breaking point, over three–quarters (76%) of carers with bad or very bad mental health continue to provide care.
NI has 220,00 unpaid carers and it’s been estimated the care they provide on a 24/7, 365, basis saves the Stormont Executive £5.8 billion every year. If they withdrew their care the health service as we know it would simply collapse.
The situation is more acute in NI than in any part of the UK with research showing we have the highest level of carers and also the highest rate of those providing 50 + hours of care (the highest and more intense form of care).
A lot of caring duties stem from problems in accessing appropriate care home packages or residential/nursing care in a timely manner.
These problems mean many local people are forced to step in to fill the gap and provide care, whilst continuing to look after young children and going to work to pay the household bills.
At Carers NI we campaign on behalf of all carers and work with a range of stakeholders to achieve change and lobby for their rights.
Carers have told us what the core issues are. They centre on five main themes: 1: poverty, 2: financial hardship, 3: stress and exhaustion, 4: lack of formal support and access to respite breaks and 5: poor access to timely domiciliary care packages.
We know what would help
This includes a root and branch reform of the social care system that recognises, values and supports carers not just in their caring role but also in achieving a balance where caring is not at the expense of their own opportunities and health and wellbeing.
On a basic day to day level, we need to see improved access to social care packages and respite breaks.
Regarding the financial aspect, we call for reform of Carers Allowance. The currentbenefit is entirely unfit for purpose – providing pennies per hour to those caring around the clock and leaving many living below the poverty line and facing severe financial hardship. A carers recognition payment to those who rely on Carers Allowance would also help to lift 3,400 carers out of poverty.
In terms of workforce, we need the right staff in place to help the social care system deal with the demands of an ageing population. Currently there are 5,381 vacancies in the health service (see latest HSC workforce statistics). The highest number of vacancies is in the social services staff group, with 1,321 spots unfilled. This represents 24.5% of all HSC vacancies – higher than the vacancy rate for nurses (20%), doctors and dentists (5.4%) and AHPs (5%).
We also need to see stronger employment rights enshrined in law including paid carers leave and flexible working as a day one right for everyone.
We know everyone is working hard to make good progress, but we must try and double down our efforts even more. If we don’t, those who are most vulnerable in our society will continue to suffer irrevocable harm that cannot be undone. Next week, 22 January, Carers UK marks the 60th anniversary of the charity in NI with a special event at Stormont, themed around equality: today and tomorrow. NI’s carers deserve greater equality, support and further recognition in the future. They should be able to access an equal place in society and in all aspects of their life. The fact that its 2025 and they do not, should spur all of us on to do better.
Áine Magee, Public Affairs & Media Manager, Carers NI
Áine is an experienced policy and public affairs professional with years of delivering effective and successful strategies to influence change in the health arena. Aine was formerly a journalist in Belfast; a charity sector leader and most recently the policy and public affairs manager for both the Royal College of General Practitioners and Royal College of Surgeons of England in Northern Ireland.
