Impact of lockdown on carers at home

Review the provision and access to support and medical care for home carers and those they are caring for during a lockdown situation.

Why the contribution is important

Lockdown brought additional and often unmanageable pressures on carers at home dealing with ill or disabled relatives. Withdrawal of normal support and respite services and difficult access to medical care led to emotional and physical distress and often nowhere to turn when issues escalated. I refer particularly to dealing with relatives with Alzheimer’s and minimal proactive medical or support check in of any kind from any agency for old and vulnerable carers. Home carers are the forgotten army that get neglected at the best of times but measures need addressed for better support in the event of future CV19 scenarios.

by Sorlau on September 29, 2021 at 06:37PM

Current Rating

Average rating: 4.6
Based on: 3 votes

Comments

  • Posted by elainec September 30, 2021 at 11:35

    I have had frontline experience of the impact on carers while trying to care for my husband at home with virtually no medical help when things got out of control at home. He had Altzheimers and eventually died in March with no visitors or family allowed in until end of life and unconscious. We were often both put in an extremely stressful situation with no one to call either for medical help or advice.

  • Posted by Gcarmichael September 30, 2021 at 12:37

    My father suffered from Alzheimer’s between 2013 - 2021, throughout this time my mother cared for him (a woman in her 70s) at home however during lockdown she struggled terribly to manage his anxiety’s, outburst and symptoms of his illness but was left with no option because services were reduced and in some cases paused entirely due to covid restrictions. In July 2020 my dad eventually was sectioned to a mental health hospital and visitation limited to just my mother. This meant family were not able to see him at his lowest and most painful moments of his life. This put an incredible amount of pressure on my mother both physically and mentally. In the end lockdown dec 2020 meant that not even my mother could visit and she spent her last day with him the Xmas of that year. He spent Jan and Feb alone and died in March 2021. This took away our fathers last chances to be with family. As a long serving GP in his earlier life we felt this was indignified and cruel given his services to the nhs all those years. Alzheimers is a horrible frightening disease which requires love and care from those closest. This needs reviewing by gov to understand how families can be supported more should another lockdown happen.
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