Labelling
Parker and Lawton (1994) (Unit 1, p.16) said informal carers in families perform the following tasks: Taking care of another individuals personal hygiene; household chores; moving people who cannot move without assistance; paperwork; keeping people company; taking people out; giving medicine and keeping people occupied. During the year following Fred’s wife’s arrival home from hospital, the tasks, as outlined by Parker Lawton, dominated his life. He gave up his employment and stayed at home to care for his wife. Taking these points into account, at this period in Fred’s life, he could be labelled an ‘informal carer’. However, in recent years, Fred’s wife’s health has improved and although she is still wheelchair dependent, the majority of household tasks are now shared, she will assist with preparing the evening meal, the ironing, they will make important decisions together and she will spend time alone in the house. Their house has been adapted to enable Fred’s wife to get upstairs independently to use the bathroom and take herself to bed and also to enable her to use the kitchen. Taking his wife’s independence over the last few years into account it could be said that the label ‘informal carer’ is not as entirely relevant in Fred’s case as it once was.
Interdependence
In Fred and his wife’s situation it is plain to see that Fred is the carer. Looking at the caring aspect of the relationship Fred’s wife relies on him for transportation, helping with the grocery shopping, and household chores that she is physically unable to manage. Fred and his wife rely on each other for companionship, love, advice and support and as a result their relationship is interdependent.
Duration and Frequency of Care
The categorisation of a carer has been refined to mean a person who is both the main carer and also spends 20 hours a week or more on caring. It is calculated that there were approximately 1.5 million people in this category in 1995 (Bytheway and Johnson 1997) (Unit 1, P19). The difficulty of defining duration and frequency of care can be seen when we use the example of Fred driving his wife to a club she attends on a weekly basis, he drives her because she is wheelchair dependent, is this because he is her husband or because he is her carer? Prior to his wife’s brain injury Fred would have driven her to work as she did not have a driving licence. Therefore, actually defining whether this task was ‘care’ could become a complicated issue.
Networks
Recognition of someone as an ‘informal carer’ can have benefit in opening doors to services. Fred’s wife attends the local ‘Headway’ group on a weekly basis. Headway provides advice, support and care for those who have sustained a severe head injury and their families or carers. As soon as Fred’s wife was discharged from hospital, advice and assistance was received from the local services. In this instance being recognised as an ‘informal carer’ has helped Fred and his wife in recovering after such a traumatic event.
In conclusion, it could be fair to say that it can definitely be difficult to decide whether a person is an informal carer. Although there are some complications in Fred and his wife’s situation, he is recognised as an ‘informal carer’ and this has had a very positive impact on their lives. Fred cares for his wife on a daily basis and is with her almost 24 hours a day, although she is independent and has responsibility for tasks in the home. They are in touch with local services who have provided support and advice on practical and financial matters. They depend on each other to maintain their married relationship as well as that of carer and cared for. These are just some of the factors that demonstrate the common problem of defining informal care.
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References:-
Northedge, A; Warner, J and Walmsley, J, (2005) ‘Caring: A Family Affair’, ‘The Open University, Milton Keynes, K100 Understanding Health and Social Care, Block 1: Who Cares?, Issue 4.
