This chapter reviews a community based action research project undertaken within the Older People's Directorate of Shropshire's Mental Health NHS Trust. The project investigated how statutory bodies might best facilitate the involvement of carers. The work focused on carers of mentally infirm older people and the carers of dementia sufferers. The research sought to explore, and find solutions to, known barriers to participation such as poor communication routes, paternalistic organisation cultures and a non-homogenous user group. It was conducted in three phases.
