1.2  What do carers do?

Carers are of course individuals, so will have different experiences of caring. In the following video, Hannah, Steven, Charlotte and Rebecca talk about their caring roles.

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Transcript: Video 1.1  The role of a carer

HANNAH SCOTT ROSE
I give to my family members, is I help with medication, showering, helping my dad to get dressed, taking them out places, going to the chemist, shopping, feeding the cat, just general things around the house, and general support.
STEPHEN SMITH
So my experiences of being a young carer were over a five to seven year timeline. I became a young carer when I was about 12 or 13 years old when my Dad was diagnosed with oesophageal cancer. Through this time, he went through multiple chemotherapy sessions and an operation. Eventually he got better and went back to work and everything stayed fine for a couple of years, then two years later my Mum was diagnosed with a brain tumor and my Dad was re-diagnosed with lung, liver and stomach cancer. Through this time, my Mum's condition got worse again so she had to have an operation to remove the brain tumor and over the next year it then grew back to the same size and she needed another operation. My Dad's condition has stayed stable ever since, so its just dormant and its not grown. Over that year when Mum's tumor grew again, she had to have another operation and during this operation she had a stroke and she was paralysed down her left side completely. And then about a year and a half after that, she unfortunately passed away due to all of the complications that she'd had. Throughout this time, my role as a young carer was from small tasks just doing things around the house, going to get shopping, and also being an emotional support and shoulder to lean on for both my Mum and my Dad, we were partaking in the caring roles for each other. The other caring roles I would do were quite in depth, so it would be personal hygiene, taking them to the toilet, showering, etc. things like that. And, also unfortunately at the end when it came to bereavement, it was then also a huge support on Dad and the rest of the family and also organising funerals and things like that. So for me there was definitely a before, during and after period which was learning I was going to be a young carer, and then actually during being a young carer was kind of up and down so there was times where everything was really full-on and you didn't have a minute to do anything else because caring was your number one priority, and then to when everyone was back and healthy and there wasn't much else going on and then all of a sudden we go back to 100 again and you'd be doing all of these caring roles, so it was definitely a big priority for me.
CHARLOTTE MUIR
So, my caring role probably started when I was about eight. I knew my Mum was never very well, but I definitely noticed that I started doing more active roles such as waking her up for teatime, because she would often have an afternoon nap, or even helping her put her tablets together because she has arthritis in her hands and she couldn’t physically pop the tablets out, so I would help her with that. Also, occasionally, I would help her bath, because she couldn’t lift her arms up above her head, so I would wash her back for her. Then when I got older, it got worse. She doesn’t have any specific illness, but she has just a multitude of everything. So, one of the things is diabetes, so I would help her do her blood test, check her blood sugar levels, because again her hands, she couldn’t do it very easily, and then I would help administer insulin if she was struggling.
End transcript: Video 1.1  The role of a carer
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Video 1.1  The role of a carer
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The student carers in the videos have different caring roles and care for family members with different conditions and support needs. Unpaid carers can have many different roles and responsibilities, which can vary in length of time and impact.

Activity 1.2  The role of a carer

Timing: Allow around 5 minutes

Click on the image below then click on ‘Show examples’ on each care category card to see a list of tasks that carers may carry out.


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Figure 1.1  Carer tasks (interactive)
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Seven cards which contain seven carer tasks and can be flipped to reveal examples.

The first card is on a blue background with a drawing of a bubble bath with water from a shower spraying into it. It is titled ‘Providing personal care’. There is a blue ‘show examples’ button at the bottom of the card, which when hit flips to reveal a list of examples: help getting dressed, personal hygiene, showering/bathing, taking them to the toilet, waking them up.

The second card is on a yellow background with a drawing of a plate and knife and fork. It is titled ‘Housework and cooking meals’. There is a blue ‘show examples’ button at the bottom of the card, which when hit flips to reveal a list of examples: cleaning, cooking, feeding the cat, housework, making sure they eat.

The third card is on a green background with a drawing of a larger outline of a person standing behind three smaller outlines of people. It is titled ‘Help looking after other relatives, such as parents or siblings. There is a blue ‘show examples’ button at the bottom of the card, which when hit flips to reveal a list of examples: general support, help getting ready for school, help with homework, emotional support.

The fourth card is on a pink background with a drawing of three different sized stacks of coins. It is titled ‘Managing household budgets and shopping’. There is a blue ‘show examples’ button at the bottom of the card, which when hit flips to reveal a list of examples: doing shopping, going to the chemist, budgeting.

The fifth card is on a dark blue background with a drawing of a speech bubble with a black heart in the middle. It is titled ‘Emotional, psychological and medical support’. There is a blue ‘show examples’ button at the bottom of the card, which when hit flips to reveal a list of examples: emotional support, texting when anxious, administering medication, checking blood sugar levels.

The sixth card is on a blue background with a drawing of a calendar. It is titled ‘Attending and managing appointments with/for the cared-for person’. There is a blue ‘show examples’ button at the bottom of the card, which when hit flips to reveal a list of examples: making and keeping appointments, bringing to hospital/GP for appointments, arranging transport, taking them out places.

The seventh card is on a pink background with a drawing of a checklist with each box ticked and a magnifying glass over the first tick box. It is titled ‘Dealing with formal documents and external agencies on behalf of the person they care for’. There is a blue ‘show examples’ button at the bottom of the card, which when hit flips to reveal a list of examples: completing assessment forms, engaging with social, health or care workers, keeping note of prescriptions and medical history, organising funeral.

Figure 1.1  Carer tasks (interactive)
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1.1  Who is a carer?

Facts about student carers