Manthorpe, Jill

Including informal carers within social work training programmes is generally regarded positively. Such approval is aligned with the view that users of welfare services possess valuable, even unique perspectives relevant to professional education and training. This article identifies three models incorporating the experience of carers into social work training and draws attention to aspects of good practice.

Emphasis on support for informal carers focuses on those who provide, in the words of the Carers (Recognition and Services) Act 1995, 'substantial' and 'regular' care. Following research and policy, professional education has also developed interest in those who live with the people they support, such as co-resident spouses and children of all ages. This article considers those who probably do not define themselves as carers and are usually referred to as 'relatives' or 'family', living at a distance from an older relative.

In England, voluntary organisations such as the Carers Trust and Alzheimer's Society play major roles in providing practical help and support to family carers. This article draws on a large study looking at social care practice with carers to illustrate how changes in social care commissioning and cuts in funding have created difficulties for organisations such as these. It asks whether contracting policies based on competition between providers threaten collaborative campaigning and strategic alliances.

Presents an overview of seven pieces of research into the needs of older people. Includes technological support, meal choices for people with dementia, and a study of the Carers' Act.

The article argues that caring within lesbian relationships has been ignored in social and health care studies and practice. It critiques the dominance of caring debates by relationships between parents and children and partnerships, but with the unspoken presumption that those involved are heterosexual. The paper concludes that social workers should engage with lesbian carers in supporting individuals and networks. It draws out a range of implications for policy, practice and research agendas.

It is frequently asserted that the views of patients or service users should inform the structure and delivery of health and social care services. In the UK, patient participation, the expertise of service users and user involvement in the design and outcomes of research have been repeatedly emphasized as producing services which are more responsive, better coordinated and less stigmatizing. The NHS has highlighted the importance of involving service users in education and training. This article reports on user and carer views about learning disability nursing.

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.

Little is known about those employed to support family carers of disabled people or those with longterm care needs. The term ‘carer’ is used in England to refer to family members and others who provide unpaid regular and substantial support to adults with disabilities, including older people and others unable to live independently. Among the wider social care workforce some staff are employed to provide support for these carers, but little is known about the composition and characteristics of this group of staff.