National Carers’ Week celebrated at Holyrood
On Thursday MSPs gathered in the Garden Lobby at The Scottish Parliament to celebrate National Carers’ Week.
Scotland’s First Minister, Humza Yousaf MSP, was joined by opposition leaders and MSPs from across the Parliament to mark this years Carers Week in a photograph at the Scottish Parliament following FMQs on 8 June.
Carers’ Week is an annual campaign to raise awareness of caring, and to highlight the challenges Scotland’s nearly 800,000 unpaid carers face, as well as recognise the contribution they make to families and communities throughout the UK, not to mention our health and social care system.
Every year there is a different theme and this year the theme is around identifying carers, and the important role we can all play in identifying carers and helping them to get the support they need and are entitled to. A carer is someone who provides unpaid care and support to a family member or friend who has a disability, illness, mental health condition or who needs extra help as they grow older. It is also about helping those many people who are caring, who don’t see themselves as a carer, and as a result can see them missing out on much needed support.
Richard Meade, Director of Carers Scotland, said: “It is great to see the whole Parliament get behind this year’s Carers Week and I would urge all MSPs to make sure that they do everything they can to ensure that carers get the support they need and are entitled to”.
Running from 5 June to 11 June, the charities supporting Carers Week 2023 are Carers Scotland’ Age Scotland, Carers Trust Scotland, MND Scotland, Oxfam Scotland and The Lewy Body Society. Together, they 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.
