Local MP for Edinburgh North and Leith, Mark Lazarowicz is strongly supporting this year’s Carers Week (13th -19th June) which recognises the contribution made by carers in Edinburgh and throughout the UK who provide unpaid care for someone who is ill, frail or disabled.
Mark said:-
“One person in eight in Scotland cares for someone who is disabled or ill. They range in age from children who bravely take on the responsibility of caring for a parent to people in retirement themselves, often at considerable cost to their own health and well-being. Yet at the same time, they save the Scottish economy over £7 billion a year.
“Caring can be incredibly demanding. It’s important that carers know that they don’t have to struggle on alone.
“We should do everything we can to ensure they get the support they need themselves. The sacrifices they make for others all too often go unrecognised and that is why it is so important to highlight their contribution in Carer’s Week.”
110,000 people in Scotland provide over 50 hours of care per week but over 250,000 people juggle caring with holding down a job. Over the next quarter of a century it is estimated that the number of carers in Scotland will have increased to around 1 million.
Carers Scotland campaigns for greater recognition and support for carers; to ensure that all carers know that they are not alone, and provides advice and information on help and services available. For more about its work click here
A new report by Carers Scotland and the University of Leeds estimates that care provided by friends and family members to ill, frail or disabled relatives in Scotland is now worth roughly £10.3 billion each year. You can find more on this here
There is also useful information for carers about services and support in Edinburgh on the City Council website at http://www.edinburgh.gov.uk/info/1350/care_and_support and http://www.edinburgh.gov.uk/info/1352/carers-adult
