Kingston Hospital and Hounslow and Richmond Community Healthcare (HRCH) have recently signed the Carers Trust’s Young Carers Covenant, pledging our support to take practical and meaningful action to support young carers and young adult carers.

There are at least one million young carers aged 17 and under in the UK and over 600,000 young adult carers aged 18 to 25 – caring for family members and friends with challenging long-term disabilities, illnesses or addiction.

You can read more about the Young Carers Covenant on the Carers Trust website.

Laura Greene, Head of Volunteering and Community Partnerships, said: “Young carers have caring responsibilities which can have significant repercussions for their lifestyle and life opportunities.

"Many young carers don’t feel that they have a choice in taking on a caring role. For many young carers, the signs of not coping can be subtle, withdrawing from social activities or education and impacting on their own health and wellbeing.

"Signing the Young Carers Covenant ensures that our professional NHS staff remain vigilant, asking all adult carers whether there are young people involved, proactively identifying young carers, and referring them for support from the Young Carers’ Service at Kingston Hospital and HRCH.”