Plight of unpaid carers

Care for the Carers told the Express one in ten people in the town had left their careers or given up their retirement to give loved ones 24 hour care.

But they receive no salary for their efforts and a third have not had a paid holiday since they began caring.

Ronald Lawrence, 71, from Lansdowne Way, gets a disability living allowance of 109.50 per week for his parkinson's disease and receives a company pension.

But his wife Peggy, 67, gave up her paid work eight years ago to give her husband 24 hour care, often seven-days-a-week.

She said: 'After the diagnosis I have looked after him at home for the past eight years.

'I try and take each day as it comes as we get older.'

Mrs Lawrence helps her husband feed, washes him, takes him to the toilet and gets him to bed at night.

She gets 240 state pension per month but no paid holidays and she has to pay for her husband's respite care if she goes away.

Mrs Lawrence inherited some money from her parents which she uses for living costs.

She added: 'We were very lucky.

'Other carers must be struggling but nobody I know talks about their financial situation.'

Jennifer Twist, partnerships manager at Care for the Carers, said unpaid carers needed recognition.

She added: 'The most difficult thing is for carers to realise they are indeed carers.

'If all the unpaid workers walked out on their loved ones the NHS would be unable to cope.'

Charles Hendry MP has promised to look at the situation facing unpaid carers in Hailsham.

He said: 'For too many years the Government has asked them to do the job on the cheap.

'We have to address the issue and one of the ways is to provide more respite care.

'It is important for carers to get recuperation.'

Are you a carer in Hailsham? Do you get enough financial support? Email us at [email protected] or comment below

For help and support contact Care for Carers on 01323 738390 or visit http://www.cftc.org.uk.

Facts about caring in Wealden:

'¢ Wealden District has the highest number of carers and the most wards out of all the areas in East Sussex (14,343 carers).

'¢ There are 1,605 carers in Hailsham out of a total population of 16,599.

'¢ One third are more than 60 years old and the number of older carers is increasing.

'¢ More than 50 per cent of older carers have their own long-term illness or disability.

'¢ Carers gain no financial reward.

'¢ A third of carers have not had a break at all since they began caring.

'¢ 95 per cent of disabled children are cared for at home by a parent.

'¢ 30 per cent of carers work unpaid for more than 20 hours per week.

'¢ 20 per cent of carers work unpaid for more than 50 hours per week.