Sir Greg Praises Unpaid Carers

East Yorkshire MP Sir Greg Knight is supporting unpaid carers across East Yorkshire and has backed this year’s Carers Week, taking place this month.

Carers Week is an annual awareness week which recognises the vital contribution made by people caring unpaid for family members or friends who have a disability, illness, mental health condition, or who need extra help as they grow older.

Sir Greg attended an event in Parliament to mark Carers Week and met with unpaid carers to hear about and better understand their experiences of caring, how carers could be better identified, and what support they now need.

New research released for Carers Week found that:

• Half of the UK population have had some experience of providing unpaid care to an older or disabled or ill relative or friend.
• Nearly three quarters of people with experience of caring hadn’t identified themselves as unpaid carers – approximately 19 million across the UK.
• Nearly one third of people said that providing unpaid care had a negative impact on their health and wellbeing – approximately 8 million people across the UK.

Sir Greg said: “Unpaid carers in East Yorkshire provide crucial support to friends and family members, often without any time out for themselves. The value of the support they provide is staggering – the equivalent of a second NHS. It is important that they are given the support they need to care safely and well for their loved ones.