Three in five carers have not taken a break in last 12 months

A total of 566 carers responded to the survey 

A new report into the state of caring on the Isle of Man has been published by the Department of Health and Social Care in partnership with Crossroads Isle of Man.

It follows a survey held between September and November last year.

In 2015 Carers UK and the University of Sheffield published a report that estimated care provided by unpaid carers in the UK equated to £132 billion per year - more than the total spending on the NHS in England.

Here on the Isle of Man the number of carers continues to rise.

A total of 566 responded to the survey - many of whom revealed that they find their health and wellbeing, social life and relationships with others are impacted by their caring role, and there can also be a significant financial impact.

Of these respondents, the report states 80 per cent were female, 18 per cent were male, and less than 1 per cent identified as non-binary.

Key points:

• When asked whether their health had changed since becoming a carer 82% of respondents said their health had suffered
• 3 in 5 carers said they'd not taken a break from their caring role in the last 12 months - of those 33% said they hadn’t tried to take a break because they thought it was too difficult
• 17% said that whilst they had been able to take a break it wasn’t long enough for them to look after their physical or mental health
• 37% of responding carers said they felt that health professionals did not take them seriously or understand their situation. This is an increase to the 2018 figure of 20%
• Only 13% of responding carers agreed they were asked about their ability and willingness to care, whereas 72% disagreed that they had been asked
• Three fifths of responding carers have not taken a break in the last 12 months
• 84% of responding carers said their social life had suffered and nearly two thirds of responding carers said they felt or had felt they were missing out on aspects of their life
• 13% of responding carers stating they felt very positive about their future and 45% said they sometimes felt positive about their future
• Two thirds of responding carers said they had been financially affected because of their caring role

Crossroads and the DHSC are now actively working to develop a National Carer Strategy and Delivery Plan. 

Over the coming months, this partnership will establish the key themes and actions required to address the challenges faced by those in a caring role with the intention of releasing the plan in Summer 2023.

The full report can be found HERE.