Carers Scotland reveals that over a million Scots providing unpaid care have gone unidentified and are missing out on support – prompting calls for the Scottish government to “urgently” implement its new Carers Strategy.

According to a new report, 68% of adults polled in Scotland currently providing or who have provided unpaid care were found to have never identified as or called themselves a carer.

More than a third of those who do come to identify themselves as a carer say it took more than a year in their role before they recognised themselves as such.

Unpaid carers who are not recognised as such could be unaware of or be unable to access important practical and financial support, according to Carers Scotland.

In polling of the general public, roughly 1.5m people in Scotland were found to have provided unpaid care or support to an older, disabled or seriously ill relative or friend at some point during their life.

This week, in a campaign for Carers’ Week (5-11 June), a host of charities including Carers Scotland are calling for more action to identify and support unpaid carers.

Richard Meade, Director of Carers Scotland, says that those currently providing care must be better supported:  

“It is a tragedy that more than two-thirds of Scottish carers could be missing out on vital support because they are not identified as a carer.

“There are nearly 800,000 unpaid carers in Scotland, and we must do much more to ensure that they all get the support they need to meet the human and financial cost of caring.”

National Carers’ Strategy

Scotland’s National Carers Strategy sets out actions to supporting unpaid carers, including employment and financial support, and fully funding and implementing carers’ right to breaks from caring.

Without accessing the support available for unpaid carers, Carers Scotland says carers can feel more isolated and unable to take a break from caring to look after their own physical and mental health.

The charity explains that this can lead to many struggling to stay in work and falling into poverty which can lead to worsening physical and mental health.

The polling suggests that more than one in three people with experience of providing care saw their health and wellbeing suffer as a result of caring, while almost a quarter said it affected their job or ability to work.

Bringing together professionals from Scotland’s national and local employability and health services, Public Health Scotland’s Head of Economy, Poverty and Environment shared the importance of employment for good health.          

Unpaid care is often offered by family members or friends and people who provide this care may not differentiate caregiving responsibilities from their relationship.

Carers Scotland says caring roles can grow very gradually as the condition of the person being cared for deteriorates – and carers can simply be too busy to realise the role they are taking.

In Scotland’s national strategy, the government commits to running campaigns for hard-to-reach groups to raise awareness of social security entitlements, to promoting payments and to ‘remove stigma to delivery a new system’ centering dignity, fairness and respect.

Carers Scotland’s Richard Meade adds:  

“It is everyone’s responsibility to help identify carers and ensure they get that support. The Scottish government must urgently begin implementation of its new National Carers Strategy as well as introduce a new dedicated National Outcome on caring to drive change across the country to improve lives for carers.

“Carers Week is an important opportunity for us to not only recognise the valuable contribution that Scotland’s carers make, but to make a commitment to do more for them. They deserve nothing less.”

Carers Scotland is joined by Age Scotland, Carers Trust Scotland, MND Scotland, Oxfam Scotland and the Lewy Body Society in supporting Carers Week.

These organisations are calling for better recognition of unpaid carers across society so that they can access the vital support they need to carry out their caring role.

Professor Soumen Sengupta, Director of Health and Social Care for South Lanarkshire, has also praised the commitment of unpaid carers, saying:

“I am completely aware of, and often see, the phenomenal contributions unpaid carers make across our diverse communities. Every case and story is different but the common thread is that of support based on empathy and compassion.

“I also appreciate that many people who are caring for a loved one or someone close to them don’t identify themselves as carers, which is why this national campaign is important in highlighting sources of support that are available.”

Read more: Students to be eligible for new Scottish carer benefit; Unpaid carers “spiralling” in cost-of-living crisis; Can Scotland make health fairer?; Analysis: Why people are left behind

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