why are carers in group 6?

[Tacono1]

I have been really surprised by the inclusion of carers in group 6 as we have been told the list is driven by medical risk but surely this is delaying getting the vaccine to those in greater medical need. It also seems odd that if caring responsibilities are to be taken into account, caring for a child especially as a lone parent isn’t considered equally crucial.
I’m in group 6 due to congenital heart disease so will hopefully be called soon although my GP is just starting group 5. I also have a history of hospitalisation with pneumonia and lung infections. I’m also a parent( lone as their father died) to 2 children. I have basically shielded as much as I can mainly out of concern for my children and what would happen if I was to become seriously ill or worse.
There must be many in my situation but without clinical vulnerabilities. It seems strange that it is not taken into account in the same way as being a carer to an adult. Mainly though I accept that the list needs to be driven by medical risk which is why I have been surprised by the inclusion before all cv have been vaccinated.

Yes, OP, there are amazing, specialist foster carers out there, but there are not many. I have two children with SEND and I've been told that the nearest suitable foster care placement would likely be over a hundred miles away.

One of my children has already spent time in psychiatric hospital and if I became ill and disappeared into hospital for even a couple of days, she could take years to feel safe and secure again, during that time she would be a huge risk to herself and others. This may well be true for your children but decisions are made on the assumption that non-SEND children are neurotypical, and reasonably resilient. Obviously children vary but overall SEND children are more severely impacted by equivalent experiences.

I feel for what you have been through as a family. Parental death is devastating for children to experience and of course you don't want to die and your children go through that again. But at least the basic physical care needs of your children, in that situation, could be met by the majority of adults.

As parents of SEND children, there are much fewer possibilities of places that could meet their care needs, if any. A move of over a hundred miles away would be devastating for them on top of parental illness/death. I have no family members or friends who could cope with my children. The trauma impact could be greater due to their lack of understanding. I have three children and there is no one family or institution that could keep them together due to the variety of their needs.

But the government aren't doing this because they give a shit about they are doing it because they would rather pay me £67.25 a week than upwards of £750 a week for specialist residential care. Whereas most children could be accommodated for much less

It's not just children with SN - it's those carers looking after the medically vulnerable children/adults. Difficult to provide intimate care and also shop etc without risking the virus and putting your already vulnerable charge at risk. It is unpaid social care.

Very surprised that anyone that works in a specialist school wouldn't spot that to be honest.

@gettingfedupagain
Thanks for your reply. It is thoughtful and you are right that assumptions are made about resilience. Without getting into it too much, one of my children has been under CAHMS and we have really struggled to ‘ stabilise’ him following the loss of his dad. I didn’t think we would get this far at points.
Support for parents is shocking and I have seen the decline in respite care too. We see the results in some way as some parents have been unable to cope. There are high percentages of children in care. It is shortsighted but like you say it’s cheaper for the government and they rely on parents like you to keep going.I realise placements would be difficult and traumatic for some children and as you say separation is likely.

@Notonthestairs There is no clear boundary between cv and ecv in some cases as the new spate of letters sent out show. Lots of us knew that already. It’s a group that have been exposed throughout with no real employment protection and no ability to shield in many cases due to caring responsibilities.We are the ‘ underlying conditions ‘ in the daily figures. Anyone caring for a vulnerable child should absolutely be treated as if vulnerable themselves.

Well, in my own case, as a parent carer for my severely disabled child, I feel that being vaccinated protects not just my child but also their school community.

Most of the children are in school (special school), but most have very complex medical histories and multiple disabilities. Few are in foster care, most are cared for their parents.

I feel very grateful to be vaccinated and also that it is so important to protect the whole school community. None of the children will be vaccinated so the parents being vaccinated will help protect them.

The children at my child’s school are the sort of children who end up in ICU with various illnesses so they are very vulnerable to covid.

For what it’s worth as well... parent carers are amazing. It is relentless, exhausting and often extremely difficult and upsetting looking after a disabled child and seeing them suffer and struggle with things that are so easy for other children- simple things like eating, drinking, and toileting. Be kind, and try and understand that life is pretty hard for parent carers and often there is no other option than to be caring for your child 24/7. I would definitely prefer to not the vaccine and have my child be healthy.