This study describes a survey of 256 informal carers and elderly people they support, and examines the impact of the caring role upon quality of life. Carers reported that many aspects of their physical and mental health as well as their social and family lives were affected by their caring. For many the caring activity was unremitting. Overall, daughters were the most likely to report deleterious effects on their lives. Dominant factors associated with stress were the relationship between carer and dependent, sex of the carer and effects on social and family life. While relationship and sex were also associated with anxiety, loneliness was the dominant factor associated with anxiety and depression. Older age of the dependent was associated with stress, carer's disability was associated with anxiety, and depression in the elderly person was associated with depression in carers. These findings indicate that community services and future policies should be oriented towards the needs of carers and their families and not solely to the needs of frail elderly people. In particular there is a need to consider an increase in the provision of flexible planned respite care.