This week is Carers Week, an annual national event that shines a spotlight on the incredible work undertaken by unpaid carers. This year’s theme is ‘making carers visible and valued’, an especially important message when the number of hours spent looking after a family member unable to care for themselves rocketed for many local carers during the pandemic.

This was because many essential support services and day centres for both carers and those they care for were forced to close following the lockdowns.

Carer Support Wiltshire is calling for the incredible contribution made by Wiltshire’s carers to be recognised during this year’s Carers Week. The charity hosted a number of events during the week as a thank you to carers and a way for them to take some time for themselves, including a nature wellbeing session with Wiltshire Wildlife Trust and a mental health resilience workshop.

It also shared a number of carer stories on its website, including from Simon Bishop who lives Devizes and cares for his wife Anna, in her 50s. who has a Functional Neurological Disorder (FND), which means her brain struggles to control her body.

Simon said: “My caring role is one that’s increased over time. I haven’t been plunged into hot water; I’ve been placed in cold water and the heat has been gradually turned up. I’m used to how things are. Anna has seizures, usually three or four a week. A loud noise out of the blue can trigger one of these. If a plate drops onto the floor, it can take her about 45 minutes to regain full control of her body.

“There can be a lot of frustration for both of us. In the morning Anna can’t talk straight away and I can’t understand what she wants. Mostly though we just keep going on. Anna found support for me as a carer through our GP surgery. I wouldn’t have identified as a carer if she hadn’t done that. You just do these things. Who else would do it? It’s nice that there are people out there who look out for carers.”

Three in five of us will care for someone during our lifetimes. This Carers Week, Carer Support Wiltshire calls on everyone to think of those who care for someone else, every day, often behind closed doors and at a detriment to their own mental and physical health.

Their work saves the UK tax payer billions of pounds every year. If you’d like to find out more, visit carersupportwiltshire.co.uk