Imagine a health system where the people who quietly hold it all together—unpaid family carers—are finally seen, heard, and supported. Across England, millions of family carers provide essential care, often sacrificing their own wellbeing in the process. Yet, their voices have too often been overlooked.
A new report from Carers UK pulls together evidence about carers’ current experiences within the NHS in England and sets out what support carers would like to see in the future. It is based on their own surveys and analysis of external datasets, including the GP Patient Survey 2025 and NHS Staff Survey 2025, as well as research from the Centre for Care.
Why Change Is Needed
- 4.7 million people in England provide unpaid care, valued at £152 billion a year—or similar to the entire NHS budget.
- Carers face significant challenges: poor health, financial strain, and difficulty balancing work and caring responsibilities.
- The number of unpaid family carers is projected to rise by nearly a million by 2035, making their support more critical than ever.
What’s New in the NHS 10 Year Plan?
1. Recognition and Partnership
Carers must be identified early and treated as equal partners in care. Their insights should shape care planning, hospital discharge, and service design. The plan calls for mandatory carer-awareness training for all NHS staff.
2. Support and Wellbeing
Carers’ own health is often neglected. The plan recommends proactive health checks, flexible appointments, and better access to mental health support and respite services. Investment in social care is essential to prevent carer burnout and ensure family carers can take breaks.
3. Integration and Joined-Up Services
Care is moving from hospitals to communities, with new Neighbourhood Health Centres integrating GPs, nurses, pharmacists, and social support. Family Carers welcome more local, personalised care but worry about increased responsibilities without adequate support. The plan emphasises the need for seamless integration between NHS, social care, and community organisations.
4. Digital Transformation
The NHS App will become a “front door” to the NHS, with a new ‘My Carer’ feature allowing carers to manage appointments and medication for those they support. A Single Patient Record will reduce admin and ensure carers don’t have to repeat information to multiple professionals. Non-digital options must remain available to prevent digital exclusion.
5. Workforce and Legislation
One in three NHS staff are unpaid carers themselves. The plan calls for flexible working, paid carer’s leave, and supportive workplace policies. New legislation should enshrine carers’ rights, ensure their voices are heard, and make consultation with carers mandatory in care planning and discharge.
Carers’ Voices
Carers want to be:
- Recognised as partners, not just helpers.
- Consulted about care decisions.
- Supported with their own health and wellbeing.
- Given a choice about whether and how much they care.
- Able to access joined-up, easy-to-navigate services.
Key Recommendations
- Family Carers are recognised and identified as a core part of our health and care systems.
- All healthcare professionals ‘think carer’ as a default
- Care is better planned, through earlier and more systematic engagement of unpaid carers
- Carers’ own health is protected, ensuring they can sustain their caring responsibilities without sacrificing their own wellbeing
- Service design is aligned with the reality of care at home, making integration between NHS, social care, and community support the norm
- Technology is harnessed to ease, rather than complicate, the lives of carers
- The NHS leads by example in supporting its own workforce who provide unpaid care outside of work
- Legislation sets clear principles for the NHS and unpaid carers, and which support social care support.
Conclusion
Unpaid family carers are the backbone of our health and care ecosystem. Across England, millions of people quietly step forward each day to provide essential care and support for family members, friends, and neighbours, often at considerable personal cost.
The NHS 10 Year Health Plan is a pivotal opportunity to transform how unpaid carers are recognised and supported. By embedding carers’ needs at the heart of the NHS, we can build a health service that truly values those who give so much to others—often with little recognition in return.
Let’s seize this moment to create a carer-friendly NHS for the next decade and beyond. For more details, see the full report from Carers UK and their recommendations for the future of unpaid carers in England’s health system.
