Carers

This topic area covers statistics and information relating to carers in Hull including local strategic need and service provision. Further information relating to general health needs relating to people, such as number of people living alone who care for others, is also covered in General Health within Adults, and information on vulnerable groups is covered within Vulnerable Groups. Some further information relating to caring responsibilities is given within our Adult and Young People Health and Wellbeing Surveys within Tools and Resources.

This page contains information from the Office for Health Improvement & Disparities’ Fingertips. Information is taken ‘live’ from the site so uses the latest available data from Fingertips and displays it on this page. As a result, some comments on this page may relate to an earlier period of time until this page is next updated (see review dates at the end of this page).

Headlines

• Whilst caring for an ill, elderly or disabled relative or friend can be rewarding, it can be a difficult experience without the right support.
• There is no up-to-date information on young carers, but in the local survey there was a strong association with deprivation and age with younger secondary school pupils and young people living in the most deprived areas of Hull more likely to state that they looked after an ill or disabled relative or elderly grandparents.
• From the local adult Health and Lifestyle Survey 2011-12, 16% of respondents reported that they were responsible for the long-term care of someone.
• There are estimated to be around 5,300 people aged 65+ years who provide unpaid personal care for their partner, a family member or other person, and this is projected to increase to around 6,400 by 2040.
• The percentage of adult carers in Hull who have as much social contact as they would like is lower than England and has fallen between 2012/13 and 2018/19.

The Population Affected – Why Is It Important?

Whilst caring for an ill, elderly or disabled relative or friend can be rewarding, it can be a difficult experience without the right support. Some carers sacrifice their own way of life, lifestyles, and careers to become carers and the needs of other family and friends for their loved ones, and it can affect the carer’s physical and emotional health if the care needs are high or the carer does not have sufficient support. With the ageing population, it is often the case that elderly couples are caring for the other, with the carer also having significant health needs. The Care Act gives specific rights to all carers and places a responsibility on the local authority to assess and meet their needs.

The Hull Picture

Young Carers

There is no up-to-date national information on young carers.

The Office for Health Improvement & Disparities’ Fingertips provide an estimate of the number of young carers (from the 2011 Census). Carers are defined as anyone providing any (1+ hours) of unpaid carer per week if they look after or support family members, friends, neighbours or others because of a long-term physical or mental ill health or disability, or problems related to old age.

In Hull’s Young People Health and Wellbeing Survey conducted in 2012, one-third of secondary school pupils stated that they helped look a “disabled or ill mother”, “disabled or ill father”, “disabled or ill brother or sister”, “elderly grandparents” or “someone else”. Younger pupils were more likely to state they had one or more of these caring responsibilities.

There was a strong association with caring responsibilities and deprivation (based on the Index of Multiple Deprivation 2010). The percentages presented are standardised or adjusted for age and gender. Around 40% of pupils living in the fifth most deprived areas of Hull had caring responsibilities compared to around one-quarter of those pupils living in the fifth least deprived areas of Hull. This presumably represents both smaller family size of people living in the least deprived areas (77% of pupils living in these areas reported being either the only child or one or two children in the home compared to 58% of pupils living in the most deprived fifth of areas of Hull) as well as the greater ability of the parents and carers to pay for childcare and other caring costs.

Further information is given in the full survey report available at Hull’s Young People Health and Wellbeing Survey 2012.

The percentages differ from the local survey differ markedly from those quoted from the Office for Health Improvement & Disparities’ Fingertips, and both sets of data relate to relatively old information. It is possible that the information from Fingertips underestimates the numbers of carers, and it is possible that local data overestimates the numbers of carers. It is possible that young people in the local survey have interpreted “help look after” as general helping duties and chores at home and have not necessarily answered the question in relation to “disabled or ill” relatives, although it is likely that some help look after elderly grandparents to some extent.

Adult Carers

From the local adult Health and Wellbeing Survey 2019, 16% of respondents reported that they were responsible for the long-term care of someone, with the highest percentage caring for a sick or disabled partner (5.1%). A slightly higher percentage (at 17.9%) stated they had caring responsibilities in the more recent local survey.

Women, people aged 45-64 years, people living in the the most deprived areas of Hull, people who were not working as they were looking after family and/or the home were more likely to state they cared for at least one person as were those who lived in households with more adults, and lone parents with three or more children.

In the local survey, one in nine helped with housework or gardening, preparing meals, or went shopping for them, and one in 12 helped the person getting washed and/or dressed, or helped feed themselves. Among just those who stated they were carers, two-thirds helped with household and/or gardening, prepared meals or went shopping for the person, and half of carers were involved with personal care.

Overall, 7.7% of survey responders spent 20 hours or more caring for someone (or more than one person) per week.

The Projecting Older People Population Information Service (POPPI) provide current estimates and future projections at local authority level of the number of people with caring responsibilities.

They use estimates for the percentage from different surveys and research which have generally been derived at a national level (generally different percentage estimates for different age groups for men and women separately) in this case from the 2011 Census. They then apply these percentage figures to Hull’s population. For instance, if the percentage among males in England in a specific age group is 5% and there are an estimated 500 men living in Hull in that age groups, they would estimate there were 25 men in that age group living in Hull with caring responsibilities. Other factors such as deprivation are generally not considered in their modelling.

Further definitions are available from www.poppi.org.uk.

The Office for Health Improvement & Disparities’ Fingertips provide information on the percentage of adult carers who have as much social contact as they would like from the Personal Social Services Survey of Adult Carers. For 2018/19, the percentages in Hull were similar to England with three in ten carers aged 18+ years stating that they had as much social contact as they would like.

The trends are also given on Fingertips. The percentage in Hull decreased between 2012/13 and 2018/19.

Strategic Need and Service Provision

There is a need to work with partners to ensure that services are integrated, high quality and accessible in ways that offer people appropriate choices. Also working with partners to promote self-care, reablement or mutual support in community settings so this is viewed as the norm and reduce reliance on residential or home care. Where appropriate, ensure provision of specialist and adapted housing that is fit for purpose. The Care Act 2014 gives carers the right to receive services in their own right and focuses around promoting wellbeing and meeting needs rather than simple provision of services and on preventing, reducing or delaying the development of need, so individual needs should be assessed holistically within the context of the person’s support network and each individual’s circumstances considered, in order to provide the most appropriate care, help and support for that individual.

The vision from the National Carers Strategy is that by 2018, carers will be universally recognised and valued as being fundamental to strong families and stable communities. Support will be tailored to meet individuals needs enabling carers to maintain a balance between their caring responsibilities and a life outside of caring, whilst enabling the person they support to be a full and equal citizen. This includes supporting carers at an early stage, recognising the value of their contribution and involving them from the outset both in designing local care provision and in planning individual care packages. It is also important to enable those with caring responsibilities to fulfil their educational and employment potential, and having personalised support, and that they remain mentally and physical well. It is important to give them a ‘voice’ in decisions about service development, promoting knowledge about carers’ rights, offering training, breaks and respite, and increasing the number of annual carers’ assessments as well as increasing access to information.

The local council and the the NHS are keen to ensure that carers support is of a high standard and provided locally in local communities and facilities in which carers already spend much of their time. The local Carers Support Service must be personalised to carers’ individual needs and circumstances and services must be provided to a wide range of carers, particularly those with complex caring responsibilities and those who are not currently receiving any services, or are not familiar with support available.

The local Carers Information and Support Service aims to improve the quality of life for carers in Hull, helping them sustain their caring role, and enhancing their ability to enjoy a life of their own through the provision of a range of person, coordinated and outcome focused services. The key priorities for the carers journey and to improve the quality of life for carers are: (1) Think Carer, Think Family; Make Every Contact Count; (2) Support what works for carers, share and learn from others; (3) Right care, right time, right place for carers; (4) Measure what matters to carers; (5) Support for carers depends on partnership working; (6) Leadership for carers at all levels; (7) Train staff to identify and support carers; (8) Prioritise carers health and wellbeing; (9) Invest in carers to sustain and save; and (10) Support carers to access local resources.

Hull City Council also has a Young Carers Project which is an assessment and support service for young people aged between 5 and 18 years who are impacting by caring responsibilities. It is delivered by the Youth Development Service and aims to offer tailored support when needed with a variety of wider opportunities for young carers.

There is work locally to identify, learn and report to local commissioners cases where ‘hidden carers’ are  apparent  locally and provide these carers with access to appropriate support with to continue their caring role. The service provides regular episodes of outreach support work within GP surgeries, hospitals, and with healthcare professionals, faith organisations, places of further education and leisure centres to identify carers and ensure they are signposted to appropriate support and in doing so ensure that carers are provided with the necessary information to manage their own health and wellbeing. It will also ensure an intensive support service is provided to carers who are in crisis or near breakdown for a maximum duration of six weeks, following an assessment of their need. The provider is to record the type of support provided, the impact of the support provided, and report on the outcomes achieved for the carer. It will also provide support and information to carers to access education and training.

Resources

The Office for Health Improvement & Disparities’ Fingertips. https://fingertips.phe.org.uk

Projecting Older People Population Information System. https://www.poppi.org.uk

Hull’s local Health and Wellbeing Surveys

Updates

This page was last updated on 11 July 2022.

This page is due to be updated / checked in May 2023.