 The health of volunteers "is suffering" |
Volunteers providing a large amount of care for family or friends are much more likely to suffer ill health themselves, new figures indicate. Experts from Carers Scotland blame a shortage of information and a lack of financial support.
Research suggests carers are twice as likely to suffer from emotional stress as others.
A spokesman said: "Support services such as aids and adaptations need to be available quickly."
The report, based on the 2001 Census, claims the hidden army of carers save taxpayers about �5bn.
Figures suggest 31,000 people per year become carers in Scotland and that �60m of benefits go unclaimed.
Campaigners also claim that six out of 10 people giving a high level of care for frail, sick or disabled people worry that cash problems are hitting their health.
In addition, 35% struggle to pay essential bills and 22% save on food to make ends meet.
Carers Scotland spokesman Patrick Begley said: "The economic cost to the NHS of carers' health if it breaks down is vast.
"In addition to the cost of treating the carer's own ill-health, the state would have to pick up the cost of caring for the sick or disabled person if the carer is unable to continue caring."
He added: "The extent of ill health found among carers is deeply worrying. It is exacerbated by a lack of information about benefits, which can lead to lasting poverty for carers.
Extra effort
"The stresses and strains of caring, often in an isolating environment, mean we have to make an extra effort to reach carers before their health fails and the NHS ends up with two bills."
New guidance issued by ministers in August meant that every health board had to develop a plan to ensure the country's 600,000 carers understood what services they could use.
The carer information strategies also covered new training for NHS staff.
Colin Williams, director of the Princess Royal Trust for Carers, said at the time the guidance marked a "fundamental change" in the relationship between carers and health service staff.
The Community Care and Health (Scotland) Act 2002 paved the way for the introduction of the strategies.
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The stresses and strains of caring mean we have to make an extra effort to reach carers before their health fails 
