200,000 work part time to care for relatives

MORE than 200,000 women in Spain work part time so they can care for their relatives.

Last year there were 359,000 people in Spain working part time so they could look after relatives unable to care for themselves, National Institute of Statistics data shows.

Experts say this is mainly due to the lack of adequate services for their relatives or because they are unable to afford them.

There are currently 176,529 unqualified citizens in Spain acting as full-time carers for their relatives, of which 163,534 are women, according to a report on unqualified carers published by IMSERSO.

More than 45 per cent of people who are unable to care for themselves who are in the system are receiving grants so that their relatives can look after them in the home.

Almost 39,300 of the people who are caring for their relatives are over the age of 60.