Carers Trust responds to new data showing brutal health impact of being an unpaid carer

Responding to new Office of National Statistics data showing the health impact of being an unpaid carer, Ramzi Suleiman, Carers Trust's Policy and Public Affairs Manager, said: 

"The financial effects of being an unpaid carer can be devastating and these figures show the impact on health and wellbeing is just as brutal. A shocking 25% of unpaid carers say they’re not in good health with almost half (48.6%) reporting at least one adverse health effect because of their caring role. Carers are nearly 1.5 times more likely to say they’re not in good health than the wider population and women are being hit the hardest.

"This data proves yet again that unpaid carers are on their knees and struggling to plug the gaps created by a creaking social care system. The next government must prioritise long-term funding for that system and ensure unpaid carers can access desperately-needed respite breaks. The UK’s seven million carers will demand nothing less at the ballot box."