Lynne Featherstone MP is demanding better support from Haringey Council for unpaid carers who look after ill and disabled relatives, after many used National Carers Week to lobby her over the poor service they receive.

Lynne met with one group of local carers at the Black & Minority Ethnic Carers Support Services Carers’ Week conference, where she delivered a keynote speech calling for action. Carers at this meeting highlighted the long waits for assessments.

Lynne Featherstone comments:

“The circumstances leading up to a carer being needed are usually distressing enough – therefore the last thing people should have to contend with is excessive delays adding to their stress. There are real people at the end of these waiting lists and Haringey Council must act to ease their burden.

“Carers perform a valuable role in society, saving the taxpayer millions and meeting the needs of our sick and elderly in one of most compassionate ways possible. They should be rewarded and celebrated, not left having to fight for their entitlement.”

Cllr. Richard Wilson, Lib Dem Spokesperson for Health and Social Services, adds:

“Haringey’s service to carers’ is creaking. The Council’s own target is to increase uptake for the estimated 16,000 or so personal carers in Haringey. If it can’t cope with the 1,000 it has, then what hope is there for the rest?”

Notes:

Figures presented to the Labour Executive meeting on Tuesday showed that Council services to support carers are getting worse and failing to meet performance targets.The figures show that during 2005/06 over a quarter of carers had to wait longer than 4 weeks to get an assessment – this is an increase from 2004/05 when 1 in 10 carers had more than 4 weeks wait. The target is 91% to receive an assessment within the timeframe.

The percentage of carers receiving a carer’s break or service from the Council has halved to just 6% of carers in Haringey.

(Figures from Performance Report – April 2005 to March 2006, Chief Executive’s report to Executive, 13 June.)