Motion: Doing More to Support Carers of People with Terminal Illness

Doing More to Support Carers of People with Terminal Illness

Lodged by Michael McMahon Members' Business Motion 27 supporters

The motion

That the Parliament recognises the joint Marie Curie, University of Edinburgh, VOCAL and NHS Lothian report, Understanding the barriers to identifying carers of people with advanced illness in primary care: triangulating three data sources, published by the journal, BMC Family Practice; acknowledges the report’s key findings that people across the country, including in Uddingston and Bellshill, who care for others with a long-term illness or coming to the end of their life can find this to be all-encompassing and that, because often they do not see themselves as carers, but simply as people looking after loved ones, many such people do not get the support that they need or are entitled to; further notes that the report says that people working in the primary care sector, including GPs and nurses, do not always identify such carers and, consequently, might not direct them to the support available and that carers who do receive support might see this suddenly withdrawn following the death of the person who they were looking after, which can leave them feeling isolated and vulnerable as well as being bereaved, and notes the report’s recommendations that more needs to be done to encourage carers to identify themselves, for the primary care sector to help identify them and for carers to get bereavement support.

Supporters (27)