K101

Why can it be difficult to decide whether or not someone is a carer and does it matter' Some people become carers suddenly when their relatives,friends develop an illness or has an accident.Others make a more considerate choice to look after an older relative.For many years becoming a carer is not a decision they consciously make it just happens gradually as someone they care for or someone who is close to them becomes ill or dependant. There are different ways for caring for someone .One may decide it is better to live away from the person they care for,or one may choose to livewith them,or may already be living with them together as part of a family.The job of looking after older disabled relatives maybe taken on by one or more family members.A carer is someone who provides support and help to anyone with any kind of disabilities,sickness and age. A carer does not mean a professional care-worker in a nursing home, for example or someone employed by a disabled person. As we can see in the case of ann and angus.Ann becomes a carer without even realisingn she was one.She became a carer when her mother,who was taken care of angus,died.She took responsibility for her step father angus who has parkinson disease.She felt she had no choice but to be responsible of angus as she felt people expected her to do so and it was a womans job. . Ann was already living with her family in her parent house when her mother who was caring for angus died. .Ann had promised her mother that she would take care of angus on her death bed. .Ann does a lot for angus to be considered just a daughter. She does more than what a daughter would normaly do,this includes private and personal things. There are more complicating factors when trying to decide if someone is a carer,there could be a possibility that more than one person doing the care.For example bob ,anns husband,does the helping of lifting angus when he falls at times,but bob is not a carer as he seems to be doing something that he does as they live together.Another complicating factor is not reconising yourself as a carer as ann considered herself as a mother and wife,on the dvd ann tells the social worker she looks after angus but she is not the carer that means ann does not label and identify herself as a carer,to her she did what she did cause she had made a promise to her mother.Another complicating factor is a lot of people have progressive conditions as angus does,angus has both good and bad days,this means that ann sometimesor some days does more then other days.On other days angus does things for himself.This means that the duration and frequency of care that ann gives to angus varies from day to day care needs.For example to qualify for carers allowance angus needs to be on disability living allowance or attendance allowance. it would matter to ann and other people to be recognise ann as a carer because of the following reasons: She could apply for financial or practical support . The budget holder who needs to be able to plan carer support service. To organisations such as (carer uk) which campaign for the needs of carers,and want to know how many people are present. To employers who are obliged to take account of employers caring responsibility. It would matter greatly if for any reason ann was unable to continue and other arrangements were needed for angus at short notice. Ann could have some advantages of being recognised as a carer ,she could claim for carers allowance of the following reasons: She is over 16 She is looking after angus for at least 35 hours a week angus qualifies for disability benefits She does not earn more then £100 (2010-2011 rate)as she does not work she is living in the uk She is not a fulltime student and angus could also get care from unpaid workers In conclusion it is hard to define wheter someone is a carer and even then may not receive the help they need.The governments definition of carer is straight forward.But if we are looking for support it becomes much stricter and it does not often mean the world will see you as a carer. Word count: 804 Name: susanne lane PI: C6165205 References: Maria Lewycha 1998 choices for the carer of an elderly relaive The open Unuversity second edition 2010 K101 an introduction to health and social care block1 who cares The open university second edition 2010 K101 introduction to health and social care Resources www.thecarer.co.uk looking after someone in your own home.html