ABSTRACT
There are 5.7 million people in England who provide regular unpaid care to a sick, disabled or elderly person (Singleton et al., 2002). Although their level of involvement varies from practical help with household tasks to intensive personal care and 24-hour vigilance, carers play a crucial role in enabling people to remain at home for as long as possible. The care they provide is also substantial in economic terms, when their hours of caregiving are subjected to economic evaluation (Schneider et al., 2003). Health and social care services could not cover the range and intensity of support that family carers provide, often for many years and at the expense of their own health and quality of life.
