Carers needs assessment (2016) - Publications

The Carers JSNA is the second completed needs assessment of the JSNA’s 2015-2018 work programme. It will be used to inform the upcoming recommissioning of adults carer services in Warwickshire and the emerging carers strategy, based on the needs identified.

This needs assessment is intended to provide insight into the unpaid care provision across Warwickshire and the extent and nature of local support services.

It will also support in planning to meet future demand as a result of the Care Act. Unpaid carers make an important contribution to the overall supply of care services.

Key messages from the needs assessment include:

• The Census indicates that Warwickshire has 59,240 people or 11% of the population providing some form of unpaid care each week in 2011.
• Women are much more likely than men to provide unpaid care (58% and 42% respectively).  One in four women aged 50-64 years provides some level of unpaid care.
• An estimated 108,000 patients registered with a Warwickshire GP had some form of caring responsibility in 2013/14.
• This represents a significant difference when compared with the 2011 Census, with GP practices effectively identifying nearly twice as many carers in Warwickshire than the 2011 Census.
• Many carers do not recognise themselves as carers. Research suggests they simply see themselves as a husband, wife, parent, son, daughter or friend and as a result, do not access formal services; this is identified as a particular problem with black and minority ethnic (BME) carers.
• The number of older people in need of care is predicted to outstrip the number of family members able to provide it for the first time in 2017. By 2032, there is predicted to be an increase of 60% in the number of older people needing care from their families but the number of people able to care for older parents will have increased by only 20%, creating a shortfall in capacity to care for older generations.
• Applying population projections to the number of carers identified in the 2011 Census means that the number of carers is estimated to increase by just under 5,000 by 2021 to 64,120 carers in Warwickshire, with the majority of these (over four in five) expected to be aged 65 years and over (3,930).
• There is a uniform pattern of deteriorating general health with rising levels of unpaid care provision. There is a clear relationship between poor health and caring that increases with the duration and intensity of the caring role.
• There is a positive relationship between those providing more care in the more deprived areas of the county -  those areas that are relatively more deprived are more likely to have more residents providing 50 or more hours of care per week.
• The 2011 Census shows 1,124 children aged 0-15 years and 2,562 young people aged 16 to 24 years are providing unpaid care in Warwickshire, approximately 2.3% of all children and young people in the county.
• Young carers who care for 50 hours or more per week are five times more likely to report their health as ‘not good’ compared to those of the same age providing no care. This implies that high levels of unpaid care have a greater adverse effect on the health of young people.

• Carers JSNA – key messages presentation (PDF, 1.4 MB)
• Carers Needs Assessment (PDF, 1.7 MB)

• Carers JSNA – Key Messages Prezi presentation