Coronavirus: Half of Scots carers face burnout as support services are cut

New research shows that our unpaid carers are having to take on a "staggering" 78% more work in care for their loved ones because the health care system is under so much pressure. And more than half fear burn-out.

Two in five of them are providing more care because their local care and support services have been reduced or closed. And nearly a quarter are providing more care because they are worried about paid care staff having contact with the person they care for.

It is estimated that 700,000 people in Scotland have a voluntary caring role.

Carers in Scotland currently get a £67.25 per week government allowance plus a £460.30-a-year supplement but the workers say more is needed to recognise their contribution and the increased costs they are facing.

And Carers Scotland is calling on the Scottish Government to establish a well-being fund of £5m that is provided directly to carers centres and other support services to enable them to deal with financial hardship in the Covid-19 crisis.

The charity also said the Scottish Government should ensure that the impact of reduced services on carers and their families are closely monitored in terms of health and well-being and ability to care, to avoid burn-out.

Unite Scotland have launched a survey on conditions for carers in Scotland saying: "We want to help your role be recognised and help you get the support that you need."

Carers Scotland director, Simon Hodgson said the research laid bare the "enormous impact" on unpaid carers with increasing caring demands, costs and emotional impact placed upon them.

“Almost all were desperately worried about what would happen to the people they care for if they became ill themselves. At the moment many carers are the only support for the person they care for, with traditional services reduced or unavailable. With the lack of breaks and these reductions in support services, many are worried about burning out in the coming weeks.

“Added to these pressures, carers in Scotland are having to spend more money during the outbreak, spending more on food and household bills, added to the levels of poverty that many carers already face.

“Both the UK and Scottish Government must recognise the huge efforts of unpaid carers during this pandemic and provide the practical, financial and emotional support that carers need now and as we move forward.

“Both the UK and Scottish Government must recognise the huge efforts of Scotland’s 700,000 unpaid carers during this pandemic and provide the practical, financial and emotional support that carers need now and as we move forward. This includes how carers needs are included in the trace, track and isolate strategy which is being discussed.”

The group said that social care services were already in short supply and those families with support met a high threshold to get any form of care. Now, they say, some of those services have disappeared and unpaid carers are having to cope alone.

The survey by Carers Scotland of 890 unpaid carers in Scotland showed that on average, they are now having to pick up an additional 10 hours of unpaid care per week, helping loved ones with personal care, practical tasks and emotional support.

More than half (53%) of carers feel overwhelmed managing their caring responsibilities during the outbreak and are worried about burning out.

According to the study eight in 10 of our unpaid carers in Scotland are having to spend more money during the outbreak.

The top increases in expenditure include spending more on food (70%) – due to lack of supermarket delivery slots and need for specialist food - and household bills (53%).

Don Williamson, chief executive of of Shared Care Scotland said they were "very concerned" by the results of the survey of nearly 1000 Scottish carers in early April.

"Access to any meaningful respite care has more or less disappeared, we believe, as organisations have suspended their services to protect clients and staff," he said. "Many provider organisations will be facing very tough financial challenges too, which raises real concerns about their survival and whether they'll be there for people when we emerge from this pandemic.

READ MORE: Half of Scotland's care workers paid less than Real Living Wage

"As life begins to return to some sense of 'normality', it's vital we don't forget about the many thousands of people who will be left 'locked down' because of their caring circumstances. After everything they will have been through, it's very hard to imagine how they will be able to cope and continue caring without the help of respite breaks.”

It comes a matter of days after the Scottish Trades Union Congress urged employers and government to implement an immediate uplift on the hourly rate of pay to at least £2 for all key workers in Scotland.

It said that nearly half of Scotland's social care workers are being paid less than the Real Living Wage of £9.30 an hour.

The typical hourly rate for care workers and home carers is said to be £10.03.

And Unison Scotland said it would be submitting a separate claim to the Scottish Government to acknowledge the financial and emotional costs suffered by health workers so far during the Covid-19 crisis. This is for a 1% - or £500, whichever is highest - increase for all staff and would be on top of any annual pay increase for employees.

On April 9, Unison Scotland said it secured a victory for carers as as Scottish government PPE guidance was "withdrawn" so that home and social care workers get the PPE they need to do the "vital jobs they are doing to keep us all safe".

It said a letter from the Chief Nursing Officers would have seen Scottish home and social carers "receive less protection" than their UK counterparts and had the potential to put them and their patients at increased risk of Covid 19.

Guidance on how to use PPE for carers looking after a close friend or family member was published as Scotland entered its fifth week of lockdown on April 27.

From then unpaid carers were able to access virus protective kit from government-provided stocks.

Carers who support someone who has a condition that means they are at very high risk of coronavirus and are in the ‘shielded’ group should wear a face mask if “you are providing care for your friend or family member”, government advice says.

People with caring responsibilities who want to access PPE are being told to contact their local carers’ centre or council.