Workers caring for ill relatives ‘need employers’ support’

EMPLOYERS have been urged to be more understanding of the pressures faced by workers caring for seriously or terminally ill relatives.

Workers, both full- and part-time, are thought to make up a large percentage of the estimated 150,000 primary carers in the State.

They face huge extra demands on their time as well as physical, psychological and emotional difficulties, said Breffni McGuinness, a training officer with the Irish Hospice Foundation.