Portsmouth unpaid carers reveal 'emotional and physical strain' that the pandemic is taking on them

An interim survey by Healthwatch Portsmouth has revealed the issues unpaid carers faced during lockdown with 71 per cent sharing that their caring duties have increased during the Covid-19 pandemic and 57 per cent said that they were not able to have a break from their caring responsibilities.

Healthwatch Portsmouth chairman Roger Batterbury said: ‘The results we got from the interim survey were heartbreaking. It is an emotional minefield that carers have been through in lockdown and the situation has really shed a light on the plight of carers.

‘Services seemed to retreat as many people said they couldn’t access support very easily. I think it needed a lot more thought about how carers would be supported because virtual doesn’t work for everyone.

‘This is just the interim report but we want to take the full report to the care system and get some real change.’

Of the 60 unpaid carers who have so far answered the survey, 91 per cent of them said that they were not able to access respite services and 64 per cent said they could not access the NHS Responder scheme.

One carer said: ‘It is too painful to look back and fully comment on it all. It was a very difficult time and extremely hard; mentally emotionally and physically. It is an experience that I hope we do not have to do again. We were left alone to fend for ourselves just the two of us.

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‘Four days after lockdown I was diagnosed with cancer. I had to hide this from my child and carry on as if nothing had happened. It is not acknowledged that I am a carer for my son because I am his mother.’

Another added: ‘During the pandemic, my child has deteriorated quite a lot which means the caring role has been even more work. The physical and emotional strain that it has taken on has been hard.’

The Health Portsmouth survey will continue to run through January and a full report will be published in February 2021.

To answer visit healthwatchportsmouth.co.uk/whatmattersmost/ Or email [email protected] or call 02393 541510.

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