Family carers look after their loved ones in their home, often with little to no help from the state. RSVP's new series, Caring For The Carers, chats to family carers across the country to find out about the challenges they face.

Harry Flynn from Ferrybank on the Waterford/Kilkenny border is a young carer. Harry is currently studying for his Leaving Cert.

He and his sister Molly help care for their youngest sister Isabelle. Back in 2018, they won the Young Person of the Year award.

Isabelle was born with a condition called apnoea which means she could stop breathing randomly throughout the day and night. She also has cerebral palsy. Both Harry and Molly have performed CPR on Isabelle numerous times, saving her life.

Read more: Teena Gates, who cares for her dad Terry (97) with dementia, says carers need more support

“I’ve been doing that for the past six years,” Harry says. “I have to bring her back. “Sometimes Isabelle has problems with her mobility, so every morning we do some exercises to help her muscles move so she can get out of bed, and we go swimming every Friday.”

Harry says Isabelle is ‘a messer’ who loves watching medical documentaries. “We always say she could be a brain surgeon.”

Harry adds that getting services for Isabelle has been a struggle. “Physiotherapy has been especially difficult to get.”

Harry hopes to go to college in Waterford. He is currently considering doing a Bachelor of Arts degree. He’s not sure what he wants to do after he leaves school, but he knows he wants to work in an area where he can help people.

Harry says young carers need more support, especially when it comes to education. Due to helping out with Isabelle, he has missed a significant amount of school. Young carers like him are not given any exemptions or extra time to catch up with their studies, he says.

Maria, Harry’s mother, says their stories need to be told. While Harry’s school is very supportive, they can’t do anything about the way the Leaving Cert is designed or marked. “His circumstances are not taken into consideration.”

Maria adds that people are not aware of the difficulties family carers face and the impact these issues have on family life. “While caring is so rewarding, you have to fight for everything.”

Maria says Isabelle wasn’t able to attend school as her hips were in so much pain. “We’ve been passed between services, it seems like no one gets together or talks to each other.”

She says until the government starts to care about carers, nothing will change.

In a statement, the HSE said it recognises the contribution of carers who care for family members, relatives and friends. "However, the HSE acknowledges that deficits in service provision and waiting times for some services at this time are not appropriate and particularly stressful for service users and their families or carers.

"The HSE is also very much aware of the importance of timely and appropriate service provision for the families of both children and adults and the impact the absence of these services can have on family life and on the ability of people with disabilities to fully participate in their communities."

The HSE added that therapy services in the community prioritise patients identified as having the greatest needs and the highest risk.

"Community based care is currently undergoing substantial reform in line with Sláintecare. This involves a significant restructuring in how services are delivered to ensure that care is provided in an equitable, efficient and integrated way through newly established Community Healthcare Networks. As we develop networks and teams, we continue to build capacity of primary care, which includes HSE physiotherapy and speech and language therapies."

Family Carers Ireland provides family carers with free emergency care planning, counselling, specialised training, wellbeing support, crisis management, emergency respite, in-home support, peer support groups, and information on rights and entitlements.

Family carers can call their freephone careline 1800 240724 or go to their website for more information.

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