Young carers are having to cope with worsening mental health, a lack of time off and their education suffering as a result of the covid crisis, a new survey has found.

The first snapshot of the impact of the pandemic on young people looking after loved ones, carried out by Carers Trust Scotland, has highlighted concerns over an already worrying picture being made “far worse”.

The charity says even before the outbreak, carers under the age of 25 were all too often struggling with balancing looking after a relative with education, work and time for themselves.

Now coronavirus has significantly increased those pressures with nearly half – 45% – of carers aged between 12 to 17-years-old saying their mental health is worse as a result of the coronavirus crisis.

For young adult carers aged 18 to 25-years-old, the effect is even more stark with nearly seven out of ten – 68% – reporting poorer mental health.

The experiences highlighted in the report include one 22-year-old female carer who said she had “no help or support whatsoever now”.

“I’m caring 24/7 and I’m exhausted and mentally drained. My young carers service is closing before lockdown ends, so now I won’t have any support and I don’t know how I’m going to cope.”

The survey found 58% of young carers think their education is suffering and 42% of young adult carers are unable to take a break due to coronavirus.

Around 6% of young carers and 10% of young adult carers reported they are now spending more than 90 hours a week looking after a family member or friend.

“I’m stressed with having to care and take care of myself, as well as struggling to sleep,” a 17-year-old male carer said.

One 19-year-old female carer told how she was unable to leave the house for a day and couldn’t afford to do anything.

“We are just getting by with only making 80% of our wages. It’s a lot harder to keep on top of the rent and we spend more money on alcohol and cigarettes which makes it harder to afford electricity and some foods,” she said.

“It’s harder to eat fresh and healthy because we can’t afford it at the moment. I have gained a lot of weight since lockdown and it really affects my mental health.

“Everyone in my household including myself are sick of constantly seeing each other and cabin fever is really bad as well.”

Louise Morgan, Director of Scotland and Northern Ireland at Carers Trust, said:

“This is the first snapshot of how coronavirus is affecting thousands of young people with caring responsibilities across Scotland and the results are extremely concerning.

“It’s clear that the pandemic has made what was already a very worrying picture for young carers in Scotland far, far worse.

“That’s why we are calling for more support and more services to ensure that young people with caring responsibilities get the support they need.”

A Scottish Government spokesperson said it recognised the "incredible contribution" that young carers make to their communities. 

“The pandemic has been particularly challenging for many young carers. That is why the Cabinet Secretary for Health recently announced an extra £300,000 for Young Scot and the Time to Live fund to support them to take a break from caring and have some fun.

"This is in addition to our Young Carer Grant, the first of its kind in the UK, which is a payment of £305.10 available to eligible young carers aged 16-18.

“As many young carer services are unable to provide face to face support at the moment, we set a £500,000 fund to support them transition to online and phone support.

"We have also provided £105,000 to support Young Scot to develop enhanced digital content and resources on mental wellbeing, this includes tailored information for young carers on the support that is available to them."

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