According to a recent survey one-in-five people over the age of 60 has no one to turn to for help. Nigel Burton reports

MANY older people suffer from crippling loneliness. Shockingly, a study found that five million pensioners are so isolated that the television is their main source of company. The TV screen is, literally, a window to a world they are unable to join.

And it’s not just older people who need help. Britain is in the grip of a loneliness epidemic.

It’s no good turning to the Government for help. Social care funding is under unprecedented pressure and statutory services are struggling to hold the line.

Instead, a largely silent army of relatives, friends and neighbours is attempting to fill the gap. They have stepped up because the professionals are too stretched to help.

Recently, I was talking to a receptionist while booking an event. She asked what I did and I told her about Durham County Carers Support.

That led to a conversation about her mum who lived with her and depended on her support. Recently her health had started to fail and she was finding it harder to juggle work with caring.

Parking at hospital was a huge issue and fitting in all her mum’s medical appointments around her work was getting very difficult.

When I asked if she was getting any advice or support about her caring role she looked surprised. “I am not a carer,” she said. “I’m just just supporting my mum.”

This was a perfect microcosm of the problem.

Most people see themselves as a dad, mum, brother, daughter, partner, friend or neighbour but rarely a carer.

Caring often begins slowly and then one day you realise how much the person you are helping depends on you. The pressure on the carer can be immense. They often end up juggling work, caring, family and all their other commitments.

Durham County Carers Support is a local charity supporting more than 13,000 adults across the county who may be caring for someone with a disability, a life-limiting illness, a mental health issue or an addiction.

We offer people as much or as little advice and practical support as they need through home visits, telephone and email support. We have more than 20 years’ experience and ensure that carers know about all the help available from us and other local organisations who can help them and the person they care for.

It might be where to go for a bath aid, support with filling in a benefit form or help to stay in work. We want people to come to us early in their caring journey so we can help them think about what they need to support them, their health, and make sure they can continue to live their life alongside caring for the person in their life.

We are all about preventing things getting to a crisis, but, sadly, people often come to us when things have become so difficult they are at their wits’ end.

The last Census in 2011 showed there were just over 60,000 adults with a caring role in County Durham and that figure will be growing every year. If carers stopped supporting the people they care for it would cost the Country £132bn to replace them.

If even a fraction of the people with a caring role stopped caring tomorrow the country could not cope financially or practically. So it’s essential that carers get the support they need to carry on caring, which includes looking after themselves as well as the person they care for.

Carers face huge challenges with the changes to welfare benefits, local authority spending cuts and the pressures on the NHS to discharge people as soon as possible, coupled with an ageing population and the increase in state pension age. The numbers of people caring for someone is set to continue rising along with the need for support.

As a local charity we are keen to encourage people and businesses to support us. We welcome people who want to be part of the solution so if you would like to volunteer, fundraise or find out about becoming a Trustee contact us. Alternatively if you recognise you are a carer or know someone in County Durham who needs our help contact us to get the right support now.”

Caring affects everyone at some point in their life. As the Prime Minister once said, we really are all in this together.

For more help and information please telephone 0300-005-1213 or go to dccarers.org