Are you an unsung hero caring for your loved one, unnoticed and unloved?

If you are, we want to applaud you and thank you for your sacrifice and contribution. What you do helps the economy because you do this role unpaid. You do what you do because you care and we want to show our support to you.

Why carers week?

This special week is to raise awareness of the enormous contribution made by unpaid carers and to highlight their challenges. This is also an opportunity to call on communities, health and social care professionals, as well as employers to work together to empower carers so that they can carry on doing what they love most, which is caring for their loved one in the best way they can.

So who is a Carer?

A carer is anyone who cares for their loved one, for a friend or a family member who due to illness, disability or mental health problem, cannot manage without the support of their carer.  There is no job description or age restriction or training.  Often a carer will not know that they are a carer until someone tells them that they are!

Did you know there are about seven million carers in the UK, which is one in ten people?  With an aging population this number will continue to rise.

So what can we do together?

Individuals and community all over the UK are organising events to raise awareness for Carers Week 2018.

Most carers struggle to maintain a healthy diet and to care for their overall mental and emotional well-being because they are so engrossed trying to manage competing responsibilities on all fronts.

Caring for someone we love is the most joyful and natural thing, yet this can place enormous pressures on the carer.  The financial, emotional and physical demands and pressures can cause isolation and often depression. Some carers are caring for a loved one while holding a job. It is vital that all those who know someone in a caring role understand and support them so that they can continue to do what they do.

At Ridley & Hall, we have clients who are carers and we have staff who have also shared the same journey so we understand.

Together we can make a difference by recognising their contribution and by supporting them.

For help and advice visit Carers UK or Action for Children who support young carers.

The writer is Daxa Patel, a former carer to her dad and a Trustee of Carers’ Leeds.

Daxa Patel – Clinical Negligence and Litigation