15,000 unpaid carers in West Berkshire

Around 9.3 per cent of West Berkshire’s population are unpaid carers, figures reveal.

That equates to around 15,000 people according to a report to the council’s executive committee this week.

It says many carers do not see themselves as carers, and that a relatively small number ask the council’s adult social care (ASC) team for help.

Last year just 1,238 carers were supported by the council, and the ASC strategy which is up for adoption at the meeting says: “The enormous contribution of unpaid carers should be recognised, as well as the reality that, for many, the impact on their own lives can be huge,”

In March last year, there were 1715 people receiving a long-term package of support.

The report, by West Berkshire’s director of ASC, Paul Coe, says his department expects to receive around 1,300 requests for support a year from people leaving hospital, with an additional 2,400 requests from those not in hospital.

Of these, 74 per cent (1,277) were receiving that support in their own home, in extra care, in supported living or in day services.

The remainder, 26 per cent (438) were receiving care in a residential or nursing home.

Last week, the 2021 Census figures showed a 33 per cent increase in the number of over 65s in West Berkshire in the past decade.