When is a carer not a carer?

Norrms

Registered User
Feb 19, 2009
5,631
0
Torquay Devon
Q? When is a Carer not a Carer? Ans ? Apparently and according to those who say what order the vaccinations go, when its an unpaid carer!! I kid you not.

Yesterday i found out the very disturbing news that all "Unpaid carers" do not qualify for vaccination the same time as other paid carers in full-time work ?? Now don't get me wrong, the carers that work in care homes, and visit people at home should be and quite rightly are at the top of the pile when it comes to vaccinations, but what about the "Forgotten Army" of carers in the UK who are unpaid and look after those most vulnerable in our society ?? You know, those that cannot clock off, or go for a break, or ask someone to take over, the ones who don't go home at the end of the day but are there 24/7 looking after loved ones, you know, the ones who didn't ask to be a carer?? What about all of those when it comes to vaccinations??

Do you most of these so-called unpaid carers get Carer's allowance so is that not some kind of payment for what they do? So what's the difference ?? Everything about this is wrong, both morally and logically. "Worst case scenario" unpaid carers become sick and possibly die with covid because they have to shop etc for loved ones who are most vulnerable to this awful disease. Who then looks after those left behind ?? The paid carers ? My God have they not enough to do at the moment?


Am i being biased? B****Y right i am, i have dementia and if it wasn't for my incredible wife Elaine who has nursed me through the last few years and looked after me the way she has i would be DEAD!! It really is as simple as that !! Can you even begin to imagine how guilty we feel because we will get our vaccinations before our loved ones who are caring for us, the worry that goes with it, waiting for them to get theirs ??
My friends, there is something very wrong here and i will not let this rest until i have been given a sensible answer or something changes very quickly
Norrms xxx
 

jennifer1967

Registered User
Mar 15, 2020
23,135
0
Southampton
i think the unpaid carers are getting vaccinated in cat 6 with those that have underlying medical illness. make sure your wife is registered at the GPs and some of us dont get care allowance
 

MartinWL

Registered User
Jun 12, 2020
2,025
0
67
London
There is one critical difference between paid and unpaid carers. With exceptions, most paid carers care for more than one patient. That creates an additional risk of spreading the virus between patients.
 

DreamsAreReal

Registered User
Oct 17, 2015
476
0
It does seem illogical to me that an ill person who needs a carer can be taken for the vaccination by that carer and the carer doesn’t get vaccinated at the same time. As @Norrms says, if that carer later goes down with covid, someone else has to take over their role.

In my case my PWD doesn’t go out at all - I bring anything they need. They could only catch covid from me. Whereas I could catch it from supermarkets, docs surgery, pharmacy etc etc. But my pwd gets taken to be vaccinated by me and I just stand around like a lemon waiting to take them home again. Illogical and wasteful of time IMO.
 

Seaholly

Registered User
Oct 12, 2020
113
0
The problem for me would be, how do I prove I am a carer? I do an average 46 hours a week looking after mum, including personal care, but to make ends meet, I also do a part-time job of 24 hours a week, some of which I can do at mum's house while she is snoozing and the rest on the 2 days when we have carers in and I only go back at night to put her to bed. I'm not eligible for Carer's Allowance and the Attendance Allowance goes towards the bought-in carers. I live in a different village, so mum and I have different GPs.

It's not just Covid either - as @Norms says, if an unpaid carer goes down - they go down! Putting it very bluntly, I would be very expensive to replace. At £20/hour, I'd be an eyewatering £960 per week that would either eat into mum's savings pretty quick, or the local authority would have to provide.

What would my GP need to establish I am a carer? Would a letter signed by my brother, who has joint POA with me do? Mum's GP knows I do a lot for her, but would he be able to provide a letter?
 

jennifer1967

Registered User
Mar 15, 2020
23,135
0
Southampton
do you have to prove it? i told my GP practice and it was the receptionist that made a record of it. my husband has the same GP but they dont look up the records
 

Dimpsy

Registered User
Sep 2, 2019
1,906
0
It does seem illogical to me that an ill person who needs a carer can be taken for the vaccination by that carer and the carer doesn’t get vaccinated at the same time. As @Norrms says, if that carer later goes down with covid, someone else has to take over their role.

In my case my PWD doesn’t go out at all - I bring anything they need. They could only catch covid from me. Whereas I could catch it from supermarkets, docs surgery, pharmacy etc etc. But my pwd gets taken to be vaccinated by me and I just stand around like a lemon waiting to take them home again. Illogical and wasteful of time IMO.
I'm a lemon too.
Took mum for Covid jab one and two, so she's got her measure of protection, but what happens to mum if OH and I (her 24/7 carers) become infected?
The effort, involvement and expense of organising future care for mum by all the agencies (assuming OH and I are very poorly or hospitalised as we're in the third most vulnerable group) far outweighs the common sense and cost effective approach of vaccinating OH and I.

I'm not having a moan, and OH and I will wait patiently until it's our time to be called up, but we're not living in a bubble of no contact with the outside world. I work part time, no furlough for me, and we shop to eat.

I'm sure if the powers that be had the benefit of hindsight, the pandemic would have been strategised differently.
 

Hayley JS

Registered User
Feb 20, 2020
301
0
I too am a lemon, and whilst I am happy to wait my turn in true lemon style, it does seem to lack common sense. I shall be taking mum for her first vaccination tomorrow, - oops, no its today already! When they do get round to lil old me I shall be toting mum back along with me, for whence forth I go, she must follow.

I would like to thank @Norrms for appreciating us carers and making a bit of fuss on our behalf, a little appreciation is very much appreciated ??