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This is a report to government. The Task Force membership comprised representation from central and local government, professional bodies and third sector organisations.

The Taskforce feels strongly that the recognition of carers role and contribution is a priority and essential to achieving equality for carers, and this is reflected in the recommendations.

In this chapter the author recounts her personal experiences of being a carer for her son and her interaction with social services in Scotland. The author's son is now over 30 years old and is on the autistic spectrum, has obsessive compulsive disorder and a learning disability. She recounts the early difficulties she had in dealing with health and educational professionals as she tried to achieve the best possible care for her son. Many of the professionals she encountered were unable to appreciate the importance of integrating her son into as many normal daily activities as possible.

BACKGROUND: There is a growing appreciation of the role and needs of carers for people with mental health problems. Carers are a diverse group, including partners, relatives and friends who are seen as such by service users.

This article draws on findings from a three-year project to develop and deliver culturally appropriate support group materials for South Asian and Eastern European family carers of relatives with dementia living in the UK. Analysis of interview and field note data revealed insights into how understandings of dementia in different cultural contexts can become operationalised through stigma processes and in turn influence the ways in which people with dementia and their family carers engage with formal and informal support. 

Carers can be defined as someone who ‘spends a significant proportion of their life providing unpaid support to family or potentially friends. This could be caring for a relative, partner or friend who is ill , frail , disabled or has mental health or substance misuse problems.1 Such carers are not to be confused with paid carers (often described as Care workers, Senior care workers, community support, outreach workers and personal assistants). However, those employed in such roles may also be carers in their own time for friends or family.

Swaleh Toofany examines the evolution and possible future options for hospital at home schemes

Healthcare providers are under pressure to deliver cost-effective care to a population that is ageing. Increased longevity means the number of patients with long-term conditions and chronic illness is growing. Expanding the range of services delivered to patients in their homes may provide a solution by keeping patients out of hospital.

Issues related to paid work and care are of global importance, reflecting the twin pressures of population ageing and efforts to increase labour market participation. Informal carers of sick, disabled or older people can experience tensions between policies aimed at support for care and support for employment. This article discusses a study of carers’ decision-making around work and care, drawing on evidence from interviews with 80 working-age carers in England.

The views of people with experiences of using services and the views of their carers about the 2005 Mental Capacity Act (England and Wales) are reported in this article. Interviews with ten people about the detail of the Act prior to its implementation revealed that they welcomed the principles of the Act, and were able to relate these to aspects of their experiences. The Act's framework for planning around care and treatment and for making advance decisions was seen as offering greater choice and empowerment.

This paper examines the burdens experienced by caregivers of people with schizophrenia. In-depth interviews were undertaken with 107 caregivers (79 caregivers of clients with a forensic history and 28 caring for non-offenders) and categorised into burden dimensions using content analysis. The severity of the burdens faced was also recorded. The types of burden experienced by the two groups were examined using chi squared and t-tests. Results indicated that the two groups described a similar number of burdens.