A recent study published by NHS Digital has revealed that 60.6% of carers reported feeling stressed in 2018-19, a 2% increase from the results in 2016-17.
Read our latest Carers and Mental Health Survey 2022 results.
The survey, compiled from a pool of 50,800 adult carers, sheds some light on the difficulties carers are facing in our current climate, with many carers unable to find the emotional, financial, and hands-on support that they need.
On top of an increase in the number of carers that report feeling stressed, carers feeling depressed also increased from 43.4% to 45.1%, while the percentage of carers reporting feeling tired and having disturbed sleep also rose.
Caring Hours
Over three-quarters of the carers surveyed reported spending more than 20 hours per week as a carer, with 38.7% spending more than 100 hours per week in their role as a carer.
Financial Difficulties
Potentially a contributing factor to the increased stress, repression, and isolation carers are experiencing is a correlation with financial difficulties. 10.6% of respondents reported that caring had caused them financial difficulty in the past 12 months, an increase from 9.6% of respondents in 2016-17.
The report also showed that:
- Over 67% of carers were female
- The majority of carers are in the 55-64 age bracket, with 18-24 year olds accounting for the smallest age bracket
- 65.4% of carers had been carers for five years or more, with 23.5% being carers for 20 or more years
- 38.6% of carers were extremely or very satisfied with the support or services they received, compared to 7.2% who were extremely or very dissatisfied
Results were first shown by NHS Digital.
