Mr. John Mark Taylorasked the Secretary of State for Social Services (1) what information he has on the physical, emotional and mental stresses imposed upon carers called upon to cope with a range of serious or terminal medical conditions and to perform duties normally performed by nurses in hospitals;
(2) if any official survey has recently been undertaken to establish the actual cost per annum to the carer in caring for a relative, and the cost saved by the state per annum for a similar service in a hospital bed.
§ Mr. WhitneyThe kind of care provided by relatives, friends or neighbours is invaluable, and is not directly comparable with other ways of looking after dependent people. The Department funded a review by the social policy research unit at York university of research on448W informal care published in 1985 and entitled "With Due Care and Attention". This drew attention to the physical, emotional and mental stresses to which carers are subject.
The Department is now funding a further programme of research at York university which should provide some information about the financial aspects of caring. In addition, questions in the 1985 general household survey and the current major Office of Population censuses and Surveys' survey of disability will provide a considerable body of new information about various aspects of caring.