The county council is taking action to improve the lives of unpaid carers after some revealed they struggled to balance careers with looking after loved-ones.

Bucks County Council’s (BCC) health and adult social care select committee (HASC) met yesterday (January 29) to discuss a draft report outlining what needs to be done to improve support for carers.

Nationally, there are almost eight million unpaid carers who look after unwell relatives or friends – a 35 per cent increase since 2001, according to Demos Think Tank.

The number of carers registered with Carers Bucks has increased dramatically, from 5,390 in April 2011 to 10,023 in January 2018.

The HASC carried out an in-depth review of carers in Bucks, which found there were a number of “blind spots” when it came to support provided, including in the workplace.

The review group also found there needed to be more information and advice on services that carers need to access, such as financial assistance and care planning.

During the meeting councillor for Aylesbury South West, Niknam Hussain, said it is “very important” that carers have understanding colleagues and managers, having been a carer himself.

He said: “I know of people who are carers, my wife is a carer and I was a carer for my father before he passed away.

“The situation is that nobody knows what is going to happen day to day. That can get some resentment from other employees.

“The third thing that is very important is signposting and consistency of BCC services to carers, because we are the major supplier and sign poster of these services.

“Again, from personal experience it is sometimes very hard through switchboard to get through to the right person at the right time.”

Following the review, the HASC group published a list of eight recommendations outlining what action needs to be taken to improve life for carers under the headings: communities, health, education and employment.

Plans include creating a single point of access to services for all carers and develop a training programme for BCC managers to help identify and support employees who are caring for loved-ones.

Councillor for Beaconsfield, Anita Cranmer, who was on the review group, said: “It’s a selfless job, a hard job.

“We were shocked in many ways that there are ways to help them, but they are not joined up, which is a recommendation we put forward and I hope it is taken up.

“And also, the vast number of young carers who are not all identified.

“We were just in awe, it is a humbling experience to be a part of that working group and we sincerely hope the evidence we got together is going to be acted on.”

Chairman of the committee, Brian Roberts, said carers are “unsung heroes” of the community, adding: “Without them, we wouldn’t be able to survive”.

To view the report and list of recommendations visit: https://democracy.buckscc.gov.uk/mgConvert2PDF.aspx?ID=128298