Mae Sioned Williams AS yn ysgrifennu am yr angen i sicrhau gwell cefnogaeth a chydnabyddiaeth o Hawliau Gofalwyr
Cyhoeddwyd yr erthygl hon yn y South Wales Evening Post ddydd Iau 21 Tachwedd 2024 (yn Saesneg).
Carers Rights Day
It’s Carers’ Rights Day, and I want to highlight a new report that reveals a huge gap between the rights that carers have in Wales, with the reality on the ground.
Wales has the highest proportion of unpaid carers in the UK and Neath Port Talbot has the highest number in Wales, so it’s very likely that you know someone who is a carer.
Carers’ Wales, a charity led by carers, for carers, surveyed over 450 unpaid carers in Wales. They wanted to see whether the support and advice that carers have a right to, is actually reaching them.
Unpaid carers are those people who voluntarily look after a partner, family member or a friend who needs support. Many don’t see themselves as carers, and as such are often unaware of their legal rights and what they’re entitled to in terms of support and benefits.
It’s a cause very close to my heart as I’m a carer for my mother, and she was a full-time carer for my late father and so I know first-hand how crucial support with that role can be.
You don’t need to be a carer to appreciate the value of this unpaid work. In fact, research shows that the care provided by unpaid carers in Wales would cost the Welsh Government over £10 billion per year to replace!
So the rights that carers have under the law are really important – rights to be identified as a carer, to have access to information and advice, and the right to a Carers Needs Assessment which can be the first step in getting support.
That’s why this year’s theme for Carer’s Rights Day is so important: Recognising Your Rights.
The results of Carers’ Wales survey were pretty sobering:
1 in 3 carers took over three years to be identified in their caregiving role and only half of carers surveyed had access to relevant information. Also, despite a legal right to Carers Needs Assessments, only 6% of carers accessed them in the past year, with many having to wait for months on end.
The failure to uphold carers’ rights means many are struggling to cope, finding their mental and physical health suffering, and being pushed into poverty.
I have made a call in the Senedd to recognise the vital contribution of unpaid carers and to support Carers’ Wales’ calls for action to ensure their rights are upheld in all parts of Wales.
It’s great that carers have rights in Wales, but it’s simply not good enough if those rights, so crucial in ensuring support, are being ignored.