Within Europe there are already believed to be around 100 million family carers whose contribution to care often exceeds the financial expenditures of their countries on formal nursing services.
Family carers have always had some role in end of life care, and this is growing alongside the drive to ensure that everyone can have the choice of spending their final days and death at home.
In a Primary Care Today article, republished by ehospice UK, authors Sheila Payne and Hazel Morbey outline the important role of nurses in providing assessments, information and support for family carers.
They explain: “Carers can experience considerable physical, psychological, social and financial challenges which they are largely unprepared for.”
The authors suggest that the regular assessment of the needs of family cares should be embedded as part of palliative and end of life care.
They explain: “This recognises family carers as being worthy recipients of care, who are often in need of services themselves, while also acknowledging how they work alongside professionals in their homes and communities as experts in relation to their cared-for family member. The emotional, physical and financial demands of these dual roles are considerable, and full acknowledgement of these demands by health workers would better ensure family carers receive respectful and compassionate care.”
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