News

More than half of British adults will look after a relative or friend at some point in their lives, according to new research.

Two-thirds of women and more than half of men will provide 20 or more hours a week of care before the age of 75, according to the findings. Women make up the largest number of informal carers. Six out of ten people are likely to have looked after someone in their own household by the time they are 70.

The study of more than 9,000 adults reveals that most informal carers take on the role between their mid-30s and mid-50s, although a significant number are older, in their mid-50s to mid-70s.

Diana Whitworth, chief executive of Carers UK, said that anyone can become a carer, but that unless support and recognition for carers improved many people would be unable or unwilling to take on the responsibility. If that happened, an impossible strain would be put on the NHS and social services, she warned.

- Transitions to Informal Care in Great Britain During the 1990s from: http://press.psprings.co.uk/jech/august/jech-00545.pdf