Carers in Camden

“As carers have told us, caring takes “exhaustion, courage and bravery”, and you may “sacrifice a lot, and not look after yourself.” 

Carers have said data is what sets the background for this plan. Data was gathered to understand the context for the action plan; to look at current support, highlight gaps, make connections and identify areas to explore further. It provided the rationale behind why we need to take this action plan forward.

In the 2021 census:

• 14,605 people in Camden identified themselves as a carer, that is equivalent of 7% of the population.
• 5,201 people are providing over 35 hours of care a week.
• 53% of carers are juggling work and caring responsibilities.
• 5% of carers are themselves long-term unwell or disabled.
• Some carers are also in mutually dependent caring roles.
• A greater proportion of carers in Camden report less good health than non-carers, whilst still supporting the person they care for.

This data suggests that of the people that call themselves a carer, there are large proportion that are working the equivalent of a full-time job supporting the person they care for, with caring responsibilities having a direct effect or impact on managing a carer’s own employment. We know that caring can be an emotionally, physically and financially demanding responsibility; caring can lead to burn-out, and carers themselves sometimes need carers, or are reliant on the person they care for to care for them too.

In Camden, we recognise that the caring role cannot be considered in isolation and is inextricably linked to other factors such as someone’s identity and own health and social care needs. We are a borough where access to safe and secure housing, high levels of loneliness and inequality impact our resident wellbeing outcomes, and we have over a quarter of carers reporting that they are not in good health.

• 1662 Black, Asian, and other minority ethnic carers describe themselves as being in not good health. Of these 570 provide over 50 hours of unpaid care a week.
• 2240 people who are 65+ provide unpaid care. 777 carers who are 65 and over provide over 50 hours a week of unpaid care.
• 1204 people aged 16 to 24 describe themselves as carers.
• 5848 carers identified as male. Of these 1,266 provide 50+ hours of unpaid care a week.
• 8592 carers identified as female. Of these 2,276 provide 50+ hours of unpaid care a week.

Adult Social Care data, in the year 2022-23:

• 1165 people are known to Adult Social Care as unpaid carers, 580 are new to ASC services. They are caring for 1142 people.
• 504 carers were caring for people in receipt of an ASC service.
• 571 received a carer assessment: 280 were completed by social care practitioners and 291 were completed by Camden Carers*.
• Carers known to ASC are more likely to support people with a learning disability or a physical disability.
• 62 carer assessments and reviews related to people caring for someone with learning disabilities and are known to Camden’s Learning Disability Service.

Camden Carers, in the year 2023-24:

• 4400 carers registered with Camden Carers.
• 1708 of the 4400 carers are from Black, Asian and minority ethnic communities.
• 3099 of the 4400 carers identify as female, 1189 as male, 5 non-binary, 2 trans female, 4 prefer to self-describe.
• 381 of the 4400 registered carers were newly registered in that year.
• Completed 451 carer conversations or reviews.
• 175 health and lifestyle checks were completed.
• 122 carers were supported by the Counselling service.
• 1,734 unique carers had a direct action/support (this includes carer conversations, counselling, groups, activities etc.)

Mobilise between June 2023 and May 2024

• Reached 10,500 carers, who clicked through to the Mobilise website through digital campaigns.
• Engaged with 455 of these carers to register with Mobilise.
• 160 of the 10,500 carers were given a unique support offer, such as e-courses, personalised guides and interaction with the Mobilise carers support team.

Current carer services within Camden offer a range a support that covers both in-person and online provision. This allows Camden to extend the reach to different types of carers, as we know that carers are balancing a number of priorities and have their own intersecting needs. As the data shows, carers come from a diverse range of backgrounds and ethnicities, so there cannot be a one-size-fits-all approach to support.

Carers balance their caring role alongside being a parent, friend, family member, or partner – and their role may intersect with their individual protected characteristics. Accordingly, we must factor in the possibility for discrimination and prejudice that someone may face navigating the system, and ensure we are meeting people where they are at, engaging with specialist community partners that understand carers and can reach out to them.

There are some carers that are receiving support from Adult Social Care, with social workers involved in their care or the care for their cared for. With more services involved, there can be more complexity, so it is important to highlight the specific need of this subset of carers working with practitioners on care and support planning.

The data highlights that services are not reaching as many carers as there are in the borough to offer support to sustain their caring role and support wellbeing. The offer for carers in Camden is shown on here.

We will periodically revisit data relating to carers. Looking for new opportunities to grow the information that is collected, to improve understanding and evidence of how carers are supported across services; and to measure any impacts of the action plan on carers in Camden.