www.liberalconspiracy.org, 30 July 2011
This week, I read the incredible story of Alf Winter, 90. He lives in Leicestershire, in sheltered housing, with his son, Keith, 55. Keith has Cerebral Palsy, and Alf is his full time carer.
At an age when most men would be expected to sit in a comfortable chair with the traditional pipe ‘n’ slippers, being cared for themselves, Alf Winter does all the household chores. He still drives, and cooks full meals every day. He says that he has to do it, as there’s no one else to do it!
He is one of around 77,000 carers aged over 65, just in the East Midlands.
The Winters’ case made me think, and I went looking for statistics on elderly carers in the whole of the UK. I found a worrying one- 24% of carers aged over 75 provide 50 or more hours of unpaid care a week.
But the most worrying thing is that carers who are receiving a state pension are not eligible to receive Carer’s Allowance.
Alf Winter is very lucky to have a level of physical health that allows him to keep caring for his son. But his case is a reminder that there are too many others out there in a similar situation who are not so lucky.
As the disabled child of wonderful parent carers, I realised at a young age how hard carers work every day in their caring roles. They rarely complain- but this doesn’t mean they don’t deserve support and recognition.
Medical advances mean that more disabled people are living longer. While this should be celebrated, it also means that many parents are having to provide high levels of care well into their own old age.
Elderly carers, who could so easily send their adult disabled children into residential care and relax in their own old age, surely deserve more, not less, support and recognition than most