Tasked with caring for elderly parents while still working full time and providing support to their grown-up children and grandchildren, over 5 million people have been dubbed the “sandwich generation” – and they’re facing huge pressure from all sides.
Almost two thirds of multigenerational carers are struggling with their mental health due to the demands of caring for multiple family members at once. An awareness-raising campaign and hard-hitting new film, created by private home care providers Home Instead, seeks to bring carers’ mental health into the spotlight.
Mental health crisis
Saving the UK an estimated £162 billion per year, unpaid carers are some of the hardest working people in society. “It’s impossible to think of a group that does more for less in this country than family carers – yet their wellbeing is almost entirely neglected.” says Home Instead CEO Martin Jones.
“As a society we’re reliant on family carers to look after our increasingly ageing population – but this situation is unsustainable because many of the people we’re relying on are themselves struggling to cope.”
Home Instead’s research has revealed that nearly half of family carers rely on prescription medication to cope, 49% use sleep medication and a significant minority are self-medicating with alcohol and illegal drugs.
Many hold down full-time work on top of caring responsibilities. So it’s not surprising that 75% say they are neglecting their careers and 85% neglect friendships.
How can family carers be better supported?
With such shocking statistics, what can be done to support the vital work unpaid carers contribute to their families and society? With little state support available, the people over at Home Instead are campaigning to raise awareness of this under-acknowledged group and what can be done to support them.
Stress, anxiety, depression and insomnia are commonplace for unpaid carers as they juggle caring for ageing parents alongside their own families and careers. Private at-home care can provide much-needed respite to these under-pressure carers, restoring important family relationships that can suffer when somebody takes on a caring responsibility.
Local charities can provide financial and wellbeing support, advice and social connections. However, these organisations are also under pressure, and carers have found the services available hit and miss, varying greatly from one location to the next.
Over half of those surveyed said that trying to organise care for elderly relatives is one of the most stressful situations they’ve ever faced. It’s clear that more needs to be done to support carers in their vital caring roles, as well as in taking care of their own wellbeing.
With an ageing population and people starting families on average later and later, the “sandwich generation” is only going to get bigger. Home Instead’s campaign is calling for more debate and a radical rethink of how we view and support caring between family members.
“Younger families get subsidised childcare and that is never questioned,” says Jones. “We need to think seriously about the introduction of an elder care allowance and to make sure more is done generally to help this group navigate the complex social care system.”
