Carers Wish List

Replies

By debzsanderson

Re: Carers Wish List
Wed 6 Aug 2008 16:16

I wholeheartly agree Cheryl!!

Today I woke up (well after a couple of hours decent sleep) with a lousey headache and feeling really sick. Can I "phone" in sick?? No of course not!! I have to manage whether I'm fighting fit or ready to stay in bed. If I "worked" in an official capacity then I probably would have taken a paid days off and felt better much sooner. Last year I had flu (yes I did have my flu jab!!) and after struggling for nearly two weeks to look after Mark while trying to rest when I could then - you guessed it Mark got it and so I had then do ten times the work looking after him in bed. I do get carers allowance but it doesnt cover 24/7 care if I get ill - Mark wouldnt go into respite even if it was available!! I am concerned that without me Mark would be in limbo - he cant be left and is totally reliant on me which adds so much pressure.
We really deserve more money and it's time the government sits up and listenns to the people who know - us!!

Debz xx

By glynne

Re: Carers Wish List
Wed 6 Aug 2008 18:48

If wishes where horses?

By morello

Re: Carers Wish List
Thu 7 Aug 2008 09:16

Its a case of you dont know what you have until you lose it, as far as the government is concerned, if they lost all the unpaid carers ( we are slowly killing ourselves anyway) then they would be in a mess. I am ill most of the time and a lot of it is stress and depression, being alone and caring and having no support, crappy social workers, who couldnt give a damn and now the last one left and never been replaced. I have no support what so ever. If life is a gift it would be nice if you could enjoy even a small time out of it, even dare I say have a life of your own, without worrying about feeding and heating bills which are going up all the time, but our paltry benefit doesnt change to help with these. As for the advice on here for carers to take care of themselves, may I ask how we do that ? anyone-----

By mel

Re: Carers Wish List
Thu 7 Aug 2008 11:57

should be

reduce the number of hours you care before you qualify for carers allowance, e.g have a part time version and double the amount paid,

and

provide minimum wage for carers who care full time e.g 35 hours a week and over.

and a free weekly visit to a health spa every three months while 24 hour support is provided in the usual environment.

By morello

Re: Carers Wish List
Thu 7 Aug 2008 16:04

If they gave us a minimum wage they would have to give us sick pay, holiday pay etc. Can you really see that happening. After all we dont deserve that do we, we just work 24/7 for sweet FA
Mo

By Tricia

Re: Carers Wish List
Thu 7 Aug 2008 21:57

I told my son tonight before he went off to work that my wish is for him to find out what tomorrow night's euro lottery numbers are so I can win it and get my house brought up to a livable standard. Also for him and his sister to do an intensive driving course so I don't have to ferry them around here and there. For a cleaner to come in and clean up after them. For the garden to be finished and maintained.

Not a lot to ask for really is it?

I am sure I could think of a lot more once I get that cheque in my hand!

By loopy

Re: Carers Wish List
Sat 9 Aug 2008 10:26

i agree totally with cheryl. Our lives might be made a whole lot easier if the government would listen to us. They seem to think that by sending us all out to work that we might be alot better off when in fact its anything but.

By katew

Re: Carers Wish List
Sat 9 Aug 2008 14:58

cheryl

ive given up wishing for anything nice at all if my wish could come true i would dissapear into thin air!

By kerry.

Re: Carers Wish List
Sat 9 Aug 2008 15:59

The Minimum wage (for an under 18) is around £3.65 I think.

If a carer cares for only the govt. stipulated 35 hrs PW that's £1.44 per hour.- and it's taxed!
And does not include 'unsociable hours- such as after 10pm.

Of course we do not only care for 35 hrs pw. We never stop 'caring' in the literal sense, but often our duties carry above and beyond any Govt legal working hours. Often we care for almost 24/7.

And if one cares for more than one person, one only gets one carers allowance, so then that £50 pw is divided into maybe 2...3 and so on.
(I know someone who has 4 disabled children!)

The longer one cares, the worse ones health- over 10 yrs; a huge rise in chronic conditions, depression, tiredness, stress related illness and so on.
The majority of us here seem to fall into the 10 yr plus category!

We have no sick pay, no union, no annual holiday, no supervision, often little or no respite, and too often little or no support.

We are often vilified by society as scroungers, and there are no sections on any forms that I have seen, asking for what you 'do' that say 'informal carer' so we are forced to tick the box that says unemployed.
That in itself carries stigma and undermines our vital role within our society.

We lose the CA at pensionable age.
We receive less income support if we receive carers allw.
It is considered a wage when it suits but the govt say it isn't.
Children under 16 cannot get it, and if they are in FT ed (21 hrs plus) after that age they still cannot get it.
They are often subject to bullying, lack of support and recognition, poor education, little socialisation with peers.

What do we want??????? Perhaps should say 'What do we need'????

What don't we bloody need!!!!!!!

By graham

Re: Carers Wish List
Sat 9 Aug 2008 20:00

A wish list.......... A collapsing economy, house prices falling, inflation spiralling , a credit crunch...& you're doing a wish list ! We got next to nothing when our economy was almost booming..........Now you might as well p** in the wind !............Still at least you have a sense of humour ...!