Letter to Editor: This Carers Rights Day

Revitalise are here to support unpaid carers – together we care

As a charity we’re supporting Carers Rights Day, and this year the focus on home carers has never been more important.

It is estimated that since the start of the pandemic, a shocking 4.5 million people have become carers – taking the total number of carers in the UK to 13.6 million. 

The pressures on these unpaid home carers, who are nursing and caring for seriously ill or disabled loved ones 24 hours a day, have become intolerable this year. Largely because the Emergency Coronavirus Act allowed Local Authorities to axe their duty of care responsibilities towards the disabled and the elderly. 

Revitalise has provided respite care breaks – a vital lifeline to so many unpaid home carers and their disabled family members – for over 57 years. We have around the clock, nurse led care at our centres and are in a perfect position to accept guests in need of a break. Sadly, the Government have imposed blanket 14-day isolation guidelines for anybody entering any care setting, meaning anyone wishing to stay with us would need to stay in their rooms for a fortnight.

As a result, desperate families have been stripped of any hope of respite care support at a time when they need it most. So many of the families we usually support are now at breaking point. 

One carer, Hilary said: “I try to keep myself calm, and tell myself I know I’m not the only one struggling like this, but I just can’t physically do it. It’s a desperate thing, we both just urgently need a break.”

This is why we have launched our campaign, Care For Carers and the fundraiser Raise a Million, aiming to raise £1 million to support carers and their loved ones to access respite care breaks following lockdown. In the short time it’s been going it has already reached an audience of over 4 million and received celebrity support from the likes of Revitalise Vice President Dame Judi Dench, Rory Kinnear and Alexei Sayle. 

I am so proud to work for Revitalise as we amplify the voice of carers, and will continue to do so until carers stories are heard. Please support our campaign if you can, and help us spread the word about the struggles carers are facing right now.

To find out more about Revitalise, our breaks, or the ways that we may be able to support guests, please visit: www.revitalise.org.uk or call: 0303 303 0145.