'I feel that I am not valued as a carer'
A woman whose 11-year-old son has complex disabilities says she feels under valued as a carer.
Speaking during Carers Week, Becky Pain-Tolin, from Gloucestershire, said the care system was "diabolical" and "incredibly underfunded".
Ms Pain-Tolin, whose father has advanced vascular dementia and lives in a care home, said: "Unpaid carers deserve more, my father deserves more and my son deserves more."
A spokesperson for the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) said they understood "the huge difference carers make, as well as the struggles so many face".
They said the government increased the Carer's Allowance earnings threshold by £45 a week to £196, which would benefit more than 60,000 carers by 2029/30.
Ms Pain-Tolin's son needs two-to-one care at all times and three-to-one care when in the community.
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Without the support she gets from Gloucestershire County Council, the 42-year-old said she would be on the verge of a breakdown.
Ms Pain-Tolin said she worked 12 hours a week, but this meant she was "really pushing" what she could manage, which had impacted her mental health.
"'I do not have much of a life that does not involve caring," she said.
The DWP said it had launched an independent review into social care, which would "include exploring the needs of unpaid carers who provide vital care and support".
According to Gloucestershire County Council, there were 52,000 people listed as unpaid carers in the county in the 2021 Census.
But Lisa Walker, the regional manager of Gloucestershire Carers Hub, said she thought the figure was significantly higher because unpaid carers frequently do not identify themselves as such.
"I am an unpaid carer myself, I didn't even recognise that I was one until a colleague pointed it out," she said.
Ms Walker said there were a number of inequalities experienced by people working as unpaid carers.
"One of the biggest things is health and people not prioritising their own wellbeing.
"There are also issues around health professionals and GPs recognising that people have another additional role.
"There are issues around working. Approximately 600 people a day leave work because of care responsibilities.
"There is also people's mental wellbeing and accessing social activities - those are just some of the inequalities that carers face," she added.
The theme for this year's carers week, which is running from Monday to Friday, is caring about equality.
Gloucestershire Carers Hub hosted an event on Monday to provide resources and support for those in need.
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