A manager of a Perthshire carers hub is calling for unpaid carers to be moved further up the priority list for vaccinations.
Unpaid carers are currently listed behind frontline health and social care staff..
Many unpaid carers have been providing 24-hour care non-stop since March 2020 and PKAVS carers hub manager Raymond Jamieson has questioned what would happen if they decided to “down tools”.
Raymond told the Perthshire Advertiser : “The frustration felt across the carer centre network and national carer organisations across Scotland is unpaid carers should have been in a far higher priority group.
“If unpaid carers decided to ‘down tools’ or simply couldn’t cope with the added stress and anxiety then there is no doubt this would add a huge amount to an already very over-stretched budget.
“Many carers will undoubtedly get vaccinations sooner through qualifying through the age categories in early priority groups but for the support they give I would argue all unpaid carers should have been vaccinated in an earlier priority group.”
Based on information from the National Records of Scotland, it is estimated there are over 14,000 unpaid carers from as young as five years old living in Perth and Kinross.
Debbie Jordan, from Ballinluig, cares for her 80-year-old mum Pauline who has dementia.
Debbie moved north from Reading in 2010 to help her mum care for her stepfather. He passed away in 2012 and Debbie stayed on to support her mum and has been in Perthshire ever since.
Pauline was diagnosed with vascular dementia two years ago.
Being in lockdown caring for her mum 24/7 has not been easy.
The pair are housebound and Debbie has been ordering groceries online.
Debbie said: “It’s causing tension. I would normally be taking her out in the car.
“I am not prepared to put her at risk.”
But with nowhere to go for breathing space and the icy weather making it “lethal to go for a walk” Debbie has found it tough.
Debbie said: “I’m going to sleep exhausted.”
Debbie has carers who come to give her mum her medication as well as someone who comes and sits with her mum for three hours one afternoon a week.
Raymond said staff keep in touch with carers as often as the carer wants - daily, weekly or on a monthly basis - to check in and offer support.
He said staff were “offering emotional and practical support” whether that be by phone, text, email or social media.
He also pointed out some services - including day services and face-to-face one-to-ones and small group sessions for young carers - had just started up again from October through to early December. But when restrictions were once again tightened, they had to be suspended.
Some services have been able to run virtually such as online carer cafés, peer support groups and some complementary therapy sessions.
On Monday (January 18) the first minister announced £750,000 would be made available to the nation’s carers to “give them a bit of a break.”
Announcing the funding on Monday Nicola Sturgeon said: “That funding will be mainly directed to local carer centres.
“These centres will be able to give small grants to carers - who can then spend that money on something that might give them a bit of a break during these difficult times.
“The centres will also be able to expand much-needed services, such as counselling and support groups.”
PKAVS has been allocated £20,479.
But for some Perth and Kinross carers the stress has reached such a magnitude they have made the tough decision to put loved ones into full-time care.
Raymond said: “Many carers are older and anxious about letting other people into their home. Many carers cancelled their own care packages at the first lockdown for this reason.
“Doing this, coupled with other services being closed, has undoubtedly put added pressure on them having to cope with the caring responsibilities without the additional support they would have received before.”
