What is a carer?
A carer is a person of any age, adult or child, who provides unpaid support to a partner, child, relative or friend who couldn't manage to live independently or whose health or wellbeing would deteriorate without this help. This could be due to frailty, disability or serious health condition, mental ill health or substance misuse.
Did you know?
That 1.2 million carers spend over 50 hours caring for others, this equates to a full time workforce larger than the entire NHS. Carers are estimated to save the UK economy £119 billion a year in care costs, more than the entire NHS budget and equivalent to £18,473 per year for every carer in the UK.
On this page you will be able to find a range of resources which the Royal College of General Practitioners has developed to help GPs and primary healthcare staff in their support of people with caring responsibilities.
Contact us
The RCGP’s Supporting Carers programme closed on 31 March 2015. For further information about the RCGP’s work on supporting carers in general practice please contact supportingcarers@rcgp.org.uk.