Greater support needed for Northern Ireland's older end of life carers

Marie Curie NI Policy and Public Affairs Officer, Craig Harrison, looks at the ageing profile of carers in Northern Ireland and how they can be supported to look after their own health and wellbeing while caring for loved ones at the end of life.

We often hear about Northern Ireland’s ageing profile, and the extent to which the population is getting older was thrown into sharp relief again recently. A new profile of the region from the NI Statistics and Research Agency [1] reminded us that, in the next decade, we are expected to have more people aged 65 and over than children (under 16s). The number of people aged 85 and over is also projected to increase by 120% by 2040.

The implications of these trends for end of life care are enormous. Not only are there going to be more people living with terminal illnesses and complex needs, but their carers are also going to be older and more likely to be living with serious ill-health themselves.

Evidence suggests this is already starting to happen. Between 2001 and 2011, the number of carers aged over-65 in Northern Ireland increased by nearly 50%, while the carer population aged under-65 grew by just 11%.

On average, these older carers experience much worse health outcomes than their younger peers, and are more than three times as likely to be living with a long-term health problem or disability that limits their day-to-day activities.

End of life carers also suffer particularly from poor physical health and high levels of anxiety, depression and general distress. We need to take action now to address this growing pressure on our ageing carers, before they become so unwell they’re unable to care for those they love or have any quality of life themselves.

First of all, older carers need to be given regular access to respite and time away from their caring responsibilities.

Older carers should also be offered bespoke training and support to help them look after their loved one and themselves. This should include support to preserve their own wellbeing and maintain their physical and psychological health.

Finally, information about the help and support available for older carers should be adapted and provided in an accessible form that is most useful to them.

With the local population ageing so rapidly, responsibility for caring for those at the end of life in Northern Ireland is going to fall increasingly onto older carers. It is critical that policy makers intervene immediately so that older carers can be supported to look after themselves as well as those closest to them throughout this journey.

 

[1] https://www.nisra.gov.uk/statistics/ni-summary-statistics/ni-profile

Last updated 6 years 1 month ago