November 2022 • PharmaTimes Magazine • 16-17
// CARERS //
The price of love
An unpaid care crisis was emphasised by the pandemic
but now the pharma industry must unite to support carers
The social care system needs a serious shake-up to improve the lives of the 10.58 million unpaid carers. After all, these are the people who form the de facto backbone of the wider UK health system. How we treat, perceive and support these heroic individuals must be a high priority for the wider healthcare ecosystem.
An ageing population has created a staggering increase in unpaid carers, with the figure almost doubling in the last ten years according to the Office of National Statistics. The pandemic has seen this number rise further, with many finding themselves caring for the first time, with little or no understanding or training to apply to their new role.
Carers faced mental health challenges long before COVID-19, but the pandemic just exacerbated those issues. Today, 70% of UK unpaid carers report struggling with their mental health, which is completely unacceptable.
Care continues to be a top health priority for the new Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, Thérèse Coffey, but as the health service recovers from the pandemic, the pharmaceutical industry is in a unique position to also help unpaid carers. With cross-industry expertise in areas like oncology and neurology, we understand the health conditions that often go hand in hand with unpaid care, and what it means to provide meaningful support.
Changing the culture
At Merck, we’ve been looking at the evolving needs of unpaid carers around the world for several years. Our latest Carer Well Being Index highlighted the significant toll and drain on mental and physical health, as well as the financial well-being of unpaid carers. In the UK alone, 77% of unpaid carers reported burnout.
Not only that, but the nation’s unpaid carers said they felt undervalued, despite the fact that without their vital support, our health system would be completely unsustainable. As healthcare leaders, we have a shared responsibility to improve conditions for carers as well as patients and we are committed to better meeting their needs and to push for tangible solutions and action.
As a family-run company, the well-being of carers is ingrained in our company culture. Because two of our key therapeutic areas, MS and oncology, have a high carer need, we have spearheaded the Embracing Carers Initiative – a global movement dedicated to better understanding and supporting unpaid carers.
Alongside our partners, Embracing Carers looks to make a measurable difference to the lives of carers by creating connections and providing much-needed resources, support and information.
This includes materials aligned to what carers tell us are their greatest needs and concerns, and guides to facilitate healthcare professional conversations, because having a network of people – including a strong link between unpaid carers and HCPs – can make all the difference. By partnering with HCPs, the pharmaceutical industry can play a key role in helping to build further awareness among HCPs about how the lives of unpaid carers are upended by taking on a carer role.
Showing we care
Across the pharma industry, we need to provide support for carers so they can make important decisions about the person for whom they are caring. That support comes in the form of educational resources and expert advice, but also advocacy.
It’s also important to look internally at ways we can advocate for unpaid carers within the pharmaceutical industry and within our own organisations. You may not realise someone in your workplace is a carer. Indeed, many of these carers don’t realise they are either – but anyone in your working life could be looking after parents, siblings, friends or neighbours in addition to their normal working duties.
This will also likely take its toll on their career – a particular problem for women in the workplace. We found that 60% of employed female UK carers reporting that the pandemic has negatively affected their career, compared to 48% of male carers in the UK.
‘With cross-industry expertise in areas like oncology and neurology, we understand the health conditions that often go hand in hand with unpaid care’
Flexible working is one key avenue where the pharma industry can provide essential support. We know that employees have many responsibilities and duties outside the workplace, and for those taking on informal care, we have a responsibility to provide greater flexible working. Taking learnings from the pandemic, we can ensure that we create cultures and working environments in which employees can thrive and continue their caring duties.
Another opportunity for our industry is to provide internal training, helping staff to understand more about the challenges that their colleagues might be facing. This will allow them to learn more about what it’s like to be a carer and how to actively support those colleagues who may have caring responsibilities outside of the workplace.
As we work together across the industry to bolster support and care for our nation’s unpaid carers, we need to work collaboratively alongside the Government, private and public sectors. Pivotally, we must ensure that these caring duties – performed willingly by loved ones on a daily basis – are recognised and appropriately supported now and in the future.
Doina Ionescu, General Manager UK and Ireland at Merck.
Go to merckgroup.com
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