A New Project Looks To Increase Support For Military Carers

The Ministry of Defence (MoD) has started a project to find out more about forces personnel who are carers. 

It wants to better understand the strain that looking after a loved one with an illness or disability can put on military life. 

Rebecca Fyans serves in the Royal Navy and has two sons, but her eldest has Downs Syndrome.

In her son, Sebby's early years she was able to take a career break to help his development.

Now she's back at work and needs to have flexible hours to meet her son's needs.

She said: "He has hearing tests annually, there's blood tests, physiotherapy appointments, speech therapy appointments - all these kind of sort of things and they tend to club together.

"I remember one week, I was in the office one morning a day, then I was out of the office for an appointment but I can go weeks without an appointment - and that's the problem."

Major Mandy Islam is living with cancer and is assisting the MoD write a new policy on how to help military personnel who are carers.

Speaking to Forces Radio BFBS, she said: "The caring community is often referred to as a hidden community because we don't know what the community looks like in the country.

"There are an estimated three million carers across the UK, who are in employment - the figure outside of that, who knows.

"My job and the MoD's job is to try and determine what that looks like in the Armed Forces and then determine how we can support people." 

They aim to do this through an anonymous survey that forces personnel can complete online.

Major Mandy Islam added: "The survey will give me a high understanding of that demographic."

Rebecca welcomes the survey and its chance to share her views. Her husband also serves in the Royal Navy, and they worry about the impact any potential posting away from their home in Portsmouth could have.

Rebecca says "Sebby has such a great support network in place" where they currently are, and added, "if we moved, we would be leaving all of that behind."

The survey is open until the end of May and will be used to help the MoD support forces carers, and help them continue to serve.