This week is Carers Week.
Yesterday afternoon I accompanied a very lovely and very impressive young woman, Lucy, from the Macmillan Public Affairs team to the House of Commons to talk to MPs about Carers and why it is so important to identify "hidden carers".
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I was way out of my comfort zone, being far more of a "backroom" kind of person, but this is something I feel passionately about, even more so after talking to so many carers in the Mac community, which is why I went. I have never been identified as a carer, it was this site that in the end made me realise I was one and I have never been told about my rights as a carer. |
Being made to realise that we are carers at an early stage and to be made aware of what support is available then would be a great help to so many of the over 900,000 people looking after someone with cancer.
If what we said got through to even one MP it was worth doing. There was a debate on health going on in the House while we were there and one MP asked if it was okay to mention me and what I had said if she got a chance to speak, so maybe we did.
What was very apparent was what high regard Macmillan is held by the MPs we spoke to - they all seemed to be involved with the charity in some way, be it coffee mornings, the annual houses tug of war or speaking out for them in parliament and listening to what the charity have to say.
Also, I got to be inside the House of Commons which is incredible and, according to my sister, I was filmed wandering through Westminster Hall on the BBC news which made her day!
Almost a million people in England are caring for someone with cancer but half are not getting any support. If you would like to take action to help change this please sign Macmillan’s letter to the Government.
If you’re looking after someone with cancer find out how Macmillan can support you and your loved ones today.
Next week, Public Affairs will be blogging about Monday’s event, so please follow the campaigns blog for more info.
