I’m very pleased to take part in this vital debate. I thank the Conservatives for bringing this debate forward. I don’t know whether I've mentioned before that I have been a GP for some time, and I've had to deal increasingly with the kinds of situations that have been mentioned already, and also recognising that I’m still an honorary vice president of the Forget Me Not dementia clubs in Swansea, and, for several years in the past, I’ve been involved in the Alzheimer’s Society in Swansea and Crossroads—Caring for Carers in Swansea and Neath.

So, we have heard the figures. We’ve heard about the dedicated work by carers, and the vital work, indeed, by carers of all ages. And what we’re talking about here is informal carers, of course. We have a system of formal care, employed carers, but, essentially, this afternoon we’re talking about informal carers, who aren’t paid. We’re talking about what Angela Burns was saying, about kindness, natural kindness, because that’s what we’re talking about here—we have our statutory services such as the health service, social services, but those statutory services are entirely dependent on informal, unpaid carers, as we’ve heard, or the system would simply fall apart—about families and so on who have to care for their loved ones, and delight and take pride in their ability to care for their loved ones, and want to do that, but want more support, and, indeed, training to be able to deal with those difficult situations that they face from time to time.

Now, of course, the social care system is under pressure because of the effects of austerity, with insufficient funds, which raises the threshold to receive statutory care from local government. You have to have a very serious illness now to receive homecare, and, in terms of the health service, our GP surgeries are full of people who are in their 80s. Twenty years ago, it was very rare to see someone in their 80s, because there weren’t that many people in their 80s. But now our surgeries are full of people in their 80s, which is a cause for celebration of the success of the health service, but these people often have several illnesses and they have to remain in their home now. And, of course, the care is in their home as well. The pressure then falls on the shoulders of the husband or wife, who are also elderly, as we’ve already heard.

So, that’s why—. And, in talking with people who have to deal with these situations, and indeed want to deal with these situations of illness in the home, they want their loved ones to remain at home, but they also want to know more about the situation. They want training, as we’ve heard— the need for morphine injections and so on. That’s a relatively common situation, and people want to know how to do that. They don’t always want to call for the doctor or the nurse—they want to provide the care themselves—but they’re concerned about whether they’re doing the right thing or not—they don’t know. There is a genuine need for that specialist support and training, so that they feel more comfortable in their ability to care for people at home, without thinking, ‘Oh, maybe I’m doing the wrong thing.’ They need that information and the training.

Of course, naturally, there are excellent examples of support available from the voluntary sector, and not just from those groups that I’ve already mentioned, such as the Alzheimer’s Society and so on, but also Age Cymru, and specifically these Forget Me Not Clubs in Swansea—providing a cup of tea to show support to carers, just to give some respite for a few hours to those who have dementia and those who care for them to be able to go out together and to have some respite from the pressures that face them at home. And we’ve heard about the initiatives that support our young carers as well.

The clock is ticking, but there is also a need for greater respite services. When you’re in a situation of pressure at home, yes, you do receive some information from the nurse or from the doctor, but the pressure of having to care is around the clock, as we've heard, and what you want and need is respite. There’s a need for greater respite, both formal and informal. There are those in the voluntary sector that can provide that respite—just sitting with someone for a few hours. That’s what Crossroads does, for example, just to enable someone to go out to the shops. The pressure is so great. People need that respite just to deal with the situation. 

But mainly—this is the point that I wanted to make in concluding—there is that need for more information, to give more training, informal and formal, to those who provide care in the home to enable them to cope with the situation better. It’s difficult enough as it is without them being concerned as to whether they’re always doing the right thing or not. Thank you.