'Sink-or-swim' reality of life for young carers

A TEENAGE carer sat a GCSE exam only hours after getting home from a hospital at 3am following a family emergency, a Senedd committee has heard.

- CHRIS HAINES

> Carer Elektra Thomas, 15, giving evidence to a health committee inquiry at the Senedd

The warning came as witnesses highlighted a “sink-or-swim” reality where children as young as three are taking on caring roles while feeling invisible to schools and social services.

Elektra Thomas, 15, who cares for her autistic, nonverbal brother and her epileptic sister, was part of a remarkable and articulate trio of teenagers who gave evidence to a new health committee inquiry on access to support for unpaid carers.

The teenager helps her brother Blake get ready for school and helps him communicate by acting as his voice, which she has done since about three years old.

Ms Thomas told Senedd members her sister has two children, “so I’m either handling her having a seizure, running around with her medication... or I’m looking after her kids’

She said: “I’ve been having school assessments at the same time she’s had a seizure. I've been in ambulances waiting for her to get into a hospital while also studying.”

Ms Thomas explained how she is unable to focus on her schoolwork if her brother has had an overwhelming day.

“I can't focus on myself and I don’t have time for myself” she said.

The teenager, from Carmarthen-shire, described how she was once in hospital until 3am then sat a test that same day.