End of life carers "must be better supported" says charity in response to Senedd report

Marie Curie Cymru Senior Policy Manager Natasha Davies, said: "Marie Curie welcomes today's report from the Senedd's Health and Social Care committee, which highlights the immense challenges that unpaid carers throughout Wales continue to face.

"Despite rights being enshrined within law, we know far too many unpaid carers are left to battle complex health and social care systems to ensure that they, and the person they care for, get the support they need.

"This must change. We welcome the recommendations set out by the committee and add our voice to calls for the incoming Welsh Government to significantly improve the support that unpaid carers can access.

"While the report does not specifically reference the needs and experiences of end of life unpaid carers, in our evidence to the inquiry we highlighted how this group have distinct needs and experiences.

"End of life carers are in a dynamic caring situation that can change rapidly. They are increasingly taking on more personal and medical care as our palliative care system fails to meet demand.

"The support available to them must be responsive to this. That's why, as the leading end of life charity, Marie Curie continues to call for the development of training for carers in the essential skills needed to care for someone at the end of life.

"A system that is overly reliant on unpaid care is far from ideal and must change. But for as long as this is our reality, we must ensure that unpaid end of life carers are supported far better than they currently are."