New Report: What Matters to Young Carers in North Tyneside 2024

Our report on what matters to young carers in North Tyneside 2024 explores how thing have changed for young carers over time as well as offering a snapshot of what issues are currently affecting them.

Healthwatch are committed to ensuring that carers’ voices are heard in the designing and reviewing of services and support in North Tyneside. We are a member of North Tyneside’s Carers Partnership Board (CPB) and, on behalf of the CPB, conduct annual surveys of carers in North Tyneside – one year focusing on adult carers and the next focusing on young carers.

We conducted this research in April and May 2024, asking very similar questions to our 2022 survey so we could compare data and see if any progress has been made. We learned the following:

• 92% of the young carers we heard from are caring for a parent/guardian or a sibling or both. This shows that caring responsibilities are mainly within immediate close family. (54% of respondents told us they were caring for a sibling.)
• 68% of the carers are caring for 1 person, 25% for two (often a parent and a sibling) and 8% of the people we heard from told us they are caring for 3 or more people.
• In terms of the conditions the people needing care have, the most common responses were:
  • Mental health – mainly of parent/guardian, but also of sibling
  • Neurodivergence – mainly in siblings
  • Physical impairment or mobility – mainly in adults (parent/guardians or grandparents)
  • Learning disability – mainly in siblings and often linked to neurodivergence.

Find out more and read the full report here.

Report cover image features Healthwatch North Tyneside Director Paul Jones, Coby Black (North Tyneside’s Young Mayor and a young carer) and Carers’ Centre Chief Executive Claire Easton. Photographed after presenting this report to the 2024 ‘Caring For Carers’ Conference in June 2024.