Marie Curie supports National Carers Week, 18-22 June

Marie Curie is to be a national partner of Carers Week June 18-24 for the first time. The charity is aiming to raise awareness of the contribution made by unpaid carers of people who are terminally ill and the difficulties they face in undertaking their caring role.
 
Carers’ Week 2012 is highlighting the impact that caring has on the health and wellbeing of those in an unpaid caring role. Research¹ shows that carers are feeling the strain with over 80 per cent of all carers surveyed saying that their caring role has had a negative impact on their physical and mental health.

Imelda Redmond CBE, Director of Policy and Public Affairs, at Marie Curie Cancer Care said:  “We know that carers face a great deal of stress and strain and that this can have a very damaging impact on their mental and physical wellbeing.

“If the carer of a terminally ill person was to experience a breakdown in their health it could have serious consequences for them and the person they care for – including emergency admissions to hospital for both. This means more terminally ill people dying in hospital where they least want to be, and it places additional strain on the NHS.

“One of the major barriers to receiving timely care and support is that many carers don’t identify themselves in that role – seeing what they do as being a partner, relative or friend. As a result they don’t access any of the support services available to them.

“We must get care right both for people with a terminal illness and for those who care for them. Without the crucial support offered by carers, many terminally ill people would be unable to spend their final days at home, surrounded by their loved ones.”
 
Fiona Webb, cared for her terminally ill mother at home and was supported by Marie Curie Nurses the night her mother died.
 
Fiona said: “It was a great relief when the nurse arrived. I’d been struggling along until then, often with sleep deprivation. I hadn’t though to ask for help but I was glad when the District Nurse suggested a Marie Curie Nurse. The nurse was very efficient and knew just what to do. She was very sensitive to the fact that my family and I were very upset and gave us the extra support we needed.
 
“When Mum slipped away peacefully in her sleep, the nurse stayed with us, she arranged for mum’s body to be taken care of and explained what paperwork we needed to fill in. My family and I were all over the place. At times like that you stop being able to function properly and make decisions so it was extremely helpful to have someone around to help us. The whole experience would have been much more stressful without her there to guide us through it.”

Marie Curie Cancer Care supports families and carers through:

• Our Marie Curie Nurses – who provide emotional support, advice and much needed respite.
• Marie Curie Hospices - offer counselling sessions and carers groups, complementary therapies, bereavement support and specialist support for children and young people in the family.
• Marie Curie Helpers – trained volunteers who provide one-to-one support, companionship, information and respite for people with a terminal illness and their carers.
• Investing in research to better understand carers’ experiences and improve our services to support their needs. Five new research projects to support for end of life carers have just received grants from the Dimbleby Marie Curie Cancer Care Research Fund.
• Providing on and offline information on the support and benefits available to carers. Advice from other carers including Fiona is available on the Healthtalkonline website

Find out more about how we're taking part in National Carers Week

-ENDS-

^{1. Carers Week surveyed 3,400 unpaid carers who look after a family member or friend online and via post during Jan-March 2012. The report In Sickness and in Health is available to download from www.carersweek.org.↩}