Simplyhealth partner with BITC to support carers with wellbeing
Business in the Community (BITC), The Prince’s Responsible Business Network, has today announced its partnership with Simplyhealth, a leading healthcare company committed to improving affordable access across the UK.
The new partnership will support the wellbeing of some of the five million carers in England and Wales via the programme, ‘Let’s Care Together’, which encourages businesses to support carers with their wellbeing by matching volunteers with carers for online mentoring and support sessions.
The service will help to not only directly impact the lives of the carers, but also improve the wellbeing of those they care for.
This programme comes as part of a new strategic partnership between BITC and Simplyhealth with the aim of supporting carers’ health and wellbeing through mentoring support from business volunteers. The programme aims to reach over 500 carers across the UK over the next three years and is supported by the charity, Carers Trust.
Five million people in England and Wales, 9.1% of the population, provide unpaid care to a relative, friend, neighbour, or somebody else with a long-term physical or mental health condition, illness, or problems related to old age.[1] Per week, the number of hours of unpaid care across England and Wales varies, with 1.8 million people providing nine hours or less of unpaid care, and over 675,000 people provide 10 to 19 hours of unpaid care. Almost half a million people provide 20 to 34 hours of unpaid care per week, with 550,000 people providing 35 to 49 hours, and 1.5 million people providing 50 or more hours of unpaid care per week.[2] BITC’s Who Cares? research, in partnership with Ipsos, found that nearly three in 10 adults have left, or have considered leaving, a job due to caring responsibilities, showing the importance of businesses supporting carers’ wellbeing as they balance work and care.[3]
BITC works in a number of communities to help address barriers leading to deprivation. In many of these communities, the percentage of the population who provide unpaid care is higher than the percentage of people in England and Wales who provide unpaid care (9.1%):
- In Blackpool, 10.9% of people have unpaid caring responsibilities.
- In Bradford, 9.6% of people have unpaid caring responsibilities.
- In Coventry, 9.3% of people have unpaid caring responsibilities.
- In Newport, 10.4% of people have unpaid caring responsibilities.
- In Norwich, 8.7% of people have unpaid caring responsibilities.
- In Rochdale, 9.7% of people have unpaid caring responsibilities.
- In Sheffield, 10% of people have unpaid caring responsibilities.[4]
We are delighted to announce our multi-year charity partnership with Business in the Community, which will support the wellbeing of UK carers. We work tirelessly to help people benefit from preventative healthcare and donate around £1million to good causes each year. We know that people who provide unpaid care to a friend, relative, or somebody else with a long-term physical or mental health condition can sometimes forget that they need to focus on their own health and wellbeing too. We hope this partnership will enable us to provide much needed support to carers, who give so much of their time to supporting others.
Strategic partnerships aimed at tackling challenges that people face in communities across the UK are vital so that BITC can continue to transform lives and deliver long-term impact at pace and scale. Partnering with Simplyhealth to provide much-needed wellbeing support to those who look after others, is a great example of how businesses can play a vital role in transforming lives and helping communities to thrive. With nearly one in 10 people providing some kind of unpaid care every week, it is essential that they take time out to look after their own wellbeing too.
References
1. Census 2021: Provisions of unpaid care
2. Census 2021: Provisions of unpaid care
3. Business in the Community Who Cares? Report, March 2022
4. Census 2021: Provisions of unpaid care, age-standardised proportions