Around half of carers in England experience problems with their health because of their caring duties, says a major new survey published today by The NHS Information Centre.

Nearly a third of the estimated five million carers in England also say they feel stressed and a quarter have disturbed sleep, according to the final report from the Survey of Carers in Households – 2009/10 England – Main Report.

One third report they are left tired from caring and just over one in five say they are short-tempered or irritable due to their duties. Meanwhile three in five anticipate the amount of time they spend caring will increase in the next five years.

The survey, which presented limited provisional results in June 2010, involved the screening and interview of more than 2,400 carers in England.

It suggests that eleven per cent of carers receive Carer's Allowance, with the figure rising to just under a quarter for those caring for more than 35 hours a week.

New findings also released for the first time today show that among all carers:

• Four in five say their quality of life is good, but this is less common for those providing more than 20 hours of support per week (just over seven in 10), or those caring for someone in the same household (three-quarters).
• Two in five say caring responsibilities affect their personal relationships, social life or leisure time. Of those affected, nearly seven in 10 say they had less time for leisure activities, nearly a third say they are too tired to go out and just under a quarter are unable to go on holiday.
• Just over a quarter of carers of working age say caring affects their ability to take up or stay in employment. Less than one in five of all carers were aware of the right to request flexible working hours.
• Just over a quarter have been caring for the same person for at least 10 years and just under one in 10 have been caring for more than 20 years.

NHS Information Centre Chief Executive Tim Straughan said: “This survey estimates that about five million people in this country are acting as carers.

“Although most carers seem happy with their quality of life, there are a number of issues affecting them day to day; from their general health to the ability to go out with friends or take time out for a holiday.

“The survey also shows many people have spent longer than a decade acting as a carer, while a substantial number anticipate that the time they spend caring will increase in years to come.”

The full report can be viewed at www.ic.nhs.uk/pubs/carersurvey0910

ENDS

Notes to editors

1. The NHS Information Centre for health and social care (The NHS IC) is England's authoritative, central, independent source of health and social care information. It works with a wide range of health and social care providers nationwide to provide the facts and figures that help the NHS and social services run effectively. Its role is to collect data, analyse it and convert it into useful information which helps providers improve their services and supports academics, researcher, regulators and policymakers in their work. The NHS IC also produces a wide range of statistical publications each year across a number of areas including: primary care, health and lifestyles, screening, hospital care, population and geography, social care and workforce and pay statistics.

2. The Survey of Carers in households in England 2009/10 involved a large scale screening exercise across England. The screening questionnaire was administered at household level between May 2009 and April 2010, with householders identifying eligible respondents for the main survey. If someone in a sampled household was eligible, interviewers would attempt to conduct a 30 minute interview with them.

3. The Survey of Carers in households in England 2009/10 is similar to a previous approach used as part of the General Household Survey, which was conducted between 1985 and 2000 at five yearly intervals. However, one key difference is the initial screening in 2009/10 was carried out at a household rather than an individual level which is likely to have caused this new survey to under-record low intensity carers. Therefore, the total number of carers and prevalence figures reported are likely to be an under-estimate, and the profiles of carers will be weighted towards those with more intensive caring duties. The unadjusted response rate for the household screening to identify carers (which does not take into account those addresses where no interview was possible e.g. because the property was vacant, or was a non-residential address) was 72 per cent and the response rate from individuals to the carers questionnaire was 76 per cent. The General Household Survey can be accessed at http://www.statistics.gov.uk/downloads/theme_health/carers2000.pdf.

4. For media enquires please call 0845 257 6990 or contact mediaenquiries@ic.nhs.uk