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Decrease in adult carers feeling satisfied with support services
36.3% of carers reported feeling very or extremely satisfied with support and services in 2021-22 (down from 38.6% in 2018-19), according to a survey1 of 43,525 adult carers in England, published today by NHS Digital.
The percentage of carers who reported feeling very or extremely dissatisfied increased from 7.2% in 2018-192 to 8.5% in 2021-22.
In 2021-22, over half of carers (57.2%) reported their caring role had not caused any financial difficulties over the last 12 months, an increase from 53.4% in 2018-19.
The Survey of Adult Carers in England 2021-224 reports on the views of 43,525 carers who are caring for a person aged 18 and over.
The national survey5 usually takes place every other year and provides crucial information about the impact of people’s caring responsibilities on their quality of life, to enable greater understanding of the impact of carer support services and can inform service development.
The results of the survey revealed that over two thirds of carers (67.2%) feel that they have as much control as they want over their daily life and also feel encouraged and supported in their caring role.
The report also provides information relating to the carer and their wider experiences of providing care.
- The percentage of carers with a mental health problem or illness rose from 10.9% in 2018-19 to 13.2% in 2021-22
- Most carers who care for someone aged 18 to 24 (81.1%) have been caring for them for over 15 years
Looking at the eligible population of all known unpaid adult carers6, not just those who responded to the survey:
- The majority of carers whose gender was known were female (67.7%)
- The age band with the most carers was 55-64 years, which accounted for 25.4% of carers. The band with the fewest carers was 18-24 years which accounted for 1.9% of carers
Read the full report: Personal Social Services Survey of Adult Carers in England 2021-22
Notes for editors
- This report contains England-level findings from the Personal Social Services Survey of Adult Carers in England (SACE). Surveying carers gives vital information about the impact of people’s caring responsibilities on their quality of life. This enables greater understanding of the impact of carer support services and can inform service development. The eligible population for the SACE is all informal, unpaid carers aged 18 and over, who are caring for someone aged 18 or over. Carers are included regardless of whether they have received an assessment or review in the previous year.
- All of the percentage changes between 2021-2022 and 2018-19 quoted in the press release are statistically significant.
- Due to the impact of coronavirus (COVID-19) the 2020-21 survey was postponed by one full year and took place in 2021-22. This additional one-year gap must be considered when looking at time series data. The survey will continue to take place biennially from 2021-22 onwards.
- The fieldwork for the survey was conducted between October and November 2021 when there were still restrictions imposed due to the (COVID-19) pandemic. A summary of the impact of COVID-19 on the survey data is included in the data quality report that accompanies this publication.
- Percentages are rounded to one decimal place; the percentages given for each question may therefore not add up to 100%. The proportions have been calculated by weighting the response data with eligible population figures, to estimate the proportion of the population who hold these views. Further information on how the weightings are calculated is available in the Methodology and Further Information document.
- The eligible population includes all informal, unpaid carers aged 18 or over who are known to the council and who are also caring for somebody over the age of 18. The total eligible population for the 2021-22 survey was 322,105, this was an increase from 292,360 in 2018-19. From the eligible population, 133,980 carers were sampled, a total of 43,525 responses were received. In 2018-19, 50,800 responses were received.
Original article link: https://digital.nhs.uk/news/latest-news/decrease-in-adult-carers-feeling-satisfied-with-support-services
