Greg Smith MP has pledged to support unpaid carers across the Buckingham constituency this Carers Week, taking place this year from 5-11 June 2023.
Carers Week is an annual awareness week which recognises the vital contribution made by people caring unpaid for family members or friends who have a disability, illness, mental health condition, or who need extra help as they grow older.
Greg Smith MP attended an event in Parliament to mark Carers Week and met with unpaid carers to hear about and better understand their experiences of caring, how carers could be better identified, and what support they now need.
New research released for Carers Week found that:
- Half of the UK population have had some experience of providing unpaid care to an older or disabled or ill relative or friend.
- Nearly three quarters of people with experience of caring hadn’t identified themselves as unpaid carers – approximately 19 million across the UK.
- Nearly one third of people said that providing unpaid care had a negative impact on their health and wellbeing – approximately 8 million people across the UK.
The seven charities supporting Carers Week in 2023 – Carers UK, Age UK, Carers Trust, Motor Neurone Disease Association, Oxfam GB, Rethink Mental Illness, and The Lewy Body Society – are calling for the Government to deliver cross-UK Government action to support unpaid carers.
Local MP, Greg said, “Unpaid carers in Buckinghamshire provide crucial support to friends and family members, often without any time out for themselves. The value of the support they provide is staggering - the equivalent of a second NHS. It is important that their efforts are recognised and that they are given the support they need to care safely and well for their loved ones.”
Events and activities are taking place across the country this week, and hundreds of people have already made a statement to say I Care to support the Carers Week campaign. To find out more about events in Buckinghamshire or to add your own I Care message, go to www.carersweek.org.
