I do not disagree with the health secretary’s statement today to introduce a new badge for social care staff on par with NHS staff.
However, as a former home carer with over 15 years experience caring for family members at home: and a health professional, I am concerned.
I feel that once again this new initiative will only add to the low value associated with what the thousands of home carers do. Often carers are unseen, not paid, under valued and took for granted.
Why not give carers a level playing field with social care teams by raising the carers allowance to the living wage? If the government really values ALL who deliver social care. Give us our own badge and pay, thereby removing what will be a 3 tier system.
My heart sank as he announced that. We have been de-valued further.
Just after he announced that, when he said “and another thing…” I thought he was going to mention unpaid carers!..but no, of course not…it was something else entirely.
Pretty bad we are being left out of all this considering we are carrying the can for social care during this and it’s unpaid who need the discounts more than anyone. Social care is an awful organisation as it is! So unhelpful and underhand.
No, no pay raises announced, but money given to councils to dish out to social care homes.
Although I feel the government has done a lot to support as many people and businesses as they can over this period, I did feel disappointed that, yet again unpaid carers get absolutely nothing, zip, nada… Not even a blinking badge.
I personally don’t necessarily need breaks etc, but the point is we are all different, in different circumstance. My elderly dad lives with me, hes in his 80s, had a stroke, on set of vascular dementia, limited mobility etc etc… he and I wouldn’t want outside help, and we get on brilliantly, but it is exhausting and, challenging sometimes. If there was a national register we would be in the system, at least. This virus has shown me, if you haven’t involved social services, then you don’t exist. It’s all too fragmented.
Apparently, so it was mentioned we are all entitled to this care badge. The thing is the company making them has taken it off sale, which indicates strongly only the chosen ones will be able to get hold of one. Social care and paid carers of course.
I agree with Rosemary, he does look ridiculous with his badge …but then again he does look the same, even without one!
I would go further to ensure some sort of parity with paid care workers.
Not only should we be paid the minimum wage but commensurate employers pension contributions should be as well.
As you all know the longer you spend out of employment caring for someone the harder it is to get back into the workplace and therefore the time any benefit is paid after the caring duties cease is at 2 weeks initially and subsequently plus two weeks for every year you remain a carer. This also applies to breaks in caring.
Carers allowance no longer to count as income but as a true allowance, paid to all who qualify by hours alone, and not age, or assets related. It is to be paid for each person the carer cares for. The so called “triple lock” to apply to carers allowance
A yearly training allowance to ensure the skill set changes in response to the changing needs of the caree.
It would be proper recognition for all the sacrifices we endure and the long hours we all have to put in.
The government has shown it can find money for this having twice now bailed out billions, firstly to the banks in 2008 and now the CoVid 19 virus bailouts the last one must be over £1 trillion by now.
We save the country over £100billion per year, this is just to get a portion of that targetted at those who deliver those savings.
(sarcasm on) After all we are all in this together (sarcasm off)
Not even a blinking badge. 
…but then again he does look the same, even without one!