The tragic case of a Cumbrian pensioner who killed his wife when her dementia became too much was met with shock and sadness across the county.

The thought that someone could feel so desperate, and not know where to turn for help, has also set alarm bells ringing.

The story of Michael and Meryl Parry, who lived in the Eden Valley, is an extreme one.

A serious case review is underway to determine exactly what went wrong, and whether it could have been prevented.

However, what we do know from the inquest report is that Mr Parry, 81, was suffering extreme stress when he drugged then smothered his 80-year-old wife, who suffered from Alzheimer’s. Three months later his body was found in the River Eden.

Although health and care leaders are reluctant to comment on that specific case until the review is complete, efforts are already being stepped up to try and reach more of Cumbria’s 56,000 adult carers – the relatives and friends who aren’t paid to care – to ensure they know what help is out there.

Cumbria County Council has a responsibility to provide carers with an assessment of their own needs should they want one.

In 2013 they appointed Carers Support Cumbria (CSC) – a consortium formed by Cumbria’s five carer organisations – to carry out these assessments.

But to date they are still only reaching a fraction of known carers.

Dawn Kenyon, chief executive of Carlisle Carers, which is part of the consortium, said they are surpassing the targets set, yet there remain many hidden carers still living in Cumbrian communities. But she said to reach all 56,000 would need more resources.

“If there is to be a massive increase in carers’ assessments then there has to be an increase, not just in terms of financial support but also investment in infrastructure,” she added. “Staff are working to capacity in all areas now.

“Also you’ve got to remember that while a carers’ assessment is very important, that’s only the start of support.

“We can find ways of providing some of the more practical support but statutory support – home care, respite etc – if all 56,000 carers wanted an assessment and then went on to ask for a carer’s budget or home care, then do we think adult social services would be able to cope with it?”

Figures show CSC supported 1,927 carers to have a formal assessment in the first year of the contract, overreaching the set target of 1,800.

In the last year more than 5,400 carers have also contacted the five organisations for advice and information and 4,100 already known to them were contacted for a review. A total of 5,700 also had one-to-one sessions with a support worker.

But there are still many thousands of people with a caring role across Cumbria who are not part of the system. Ms Kenyon said in some cases this may be through choice and it’s important to remember that not everyone wants or needs support. But the others are a concern.

She said they are now working with 56 of the county’s GP practices, who are referring carers on as they come across them. However, she would like to see a more proactive approach – to seek out the hidden carers of all those discharged from hospital for example.

“Carers are the focus here and a clear referral to support is vital. They must be at the heart of everything – GPs, hospital teams, social workers and every other organisation that comes into contact with carers,” she said.

“The big challenge is to find the hidden carers and enable them to access support when their caring role is still at an early stage and well before they reach crisis.”

But the consortium is again stressing that the carers groups, which are all voluntary organisations, rely heavily on grants, which are proving more and more difficult to come by, and can only do so much.

As well as the contracted carer assessments, these groups and their volunteers also provide a wide range of support services for carers – including training courses, social clubs, counselling, transport, befriending services, trips for carers and benefits advice.

Although the county council hasn’t reduced its funding support for carers, the consortium says there has been no real-time increase either.

Ms Kenyon appreciates that local authorities are also struggling with reduced budgets but said investment is desperately needed from somewhere if they are to not only reach but also help, the thousands of carers helping ill and disabled people across Cumbria.

She says: “If you don’t invest in this now, we are not going to be able to meet the needs of the future. But how Cumbria County Council does that I don’t know. They’ve had some difficult decisions to make.

“If we want to reach more carers and make it meaningful, supporting and them actually accessing services, then there needs to be more national investment.

“We know how much pressure the council is under with its budget. They’ve had some difficult decisions to make and we know that pressure is going to increase. It doesn’t matter if it’s the voluntary sector or statutory authorities, everyone’s budgets are being squeezed.

“There have got to be some discussions nationally. The impact of all these cuts in linked.”