New NHS data finds almost half of carers admit to feeling depressed

More than four in 10 carers feel depressed and the figure is rising, new NHS data shows.

In 2018/19, 45.1% of carers said they felt depressed, up from 43.4% the year before.

Meanwhile, 60.6% of carers in England felt stressed, up from 58.7% the year before.

The data, from NHS Digital, was based on responses from 50,800 carers who were looking after a person aged 18 or over.

Almost four in 10 (38.7%) carers spent more than 100 hours a week on their caring duties, while 76% spent over 20 hours a week.

The percentage of carers who said they felt tired also rose to 77.8% in 2018/19, up from 76% the year before.

Meanwhile, 66% experienced disturbed sleep, up from 64% the previous year.

The survey found that the percentage of carers who were not in paid work because of their caring responsibilities increased from 21% in 2016/17 to 22.6% in 2018/19.

Meanwhile, one in 10 had experienced financial problems in the last year because of the care they needed to provide.

Overall, 38.6% of carers were extremely or very satisfied with the support or services they received.

Some 7.2% were extremely or very dissatisfied and a further 7.2% were quite dissatisfied.

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