Seddon, Diane

Reports on a collaborative study of carers from across North Wales, whose relatives have moved to live in a care home. Interviews were conducted with 78 family carers whos relative had been recently admitted into a care home. Follow-up interviews were conducted 10-12 months later with a sub-sample of 29 carers. Discusses the the carers experiences and the implications for staff working in care homes. The research was conducted by the Centre for Social Policy Research and Development, University of Wales and the Princess Royal Trust for Carers.

Since the early 1990s, UK social care policy has committed to supporting carers. Legislation (England and Wales) over this time period has recognised the importance of separate carer assessments that take into account an individual's ability and willingness to care. This paper considers carer assessment from the perspective of social care practitioners. It reports on qualitative data from a carer research programme that spans over 20 years (1993 to present) and includes 383 in-depth interviews with social care practitioners across England and Wales.

This contribution is devoted to those who take care of others, given here the general name of carer. It is stated that there are an estimated 6.8 million carers in the UK looking after people with a very wide range of health and social needs. Caring for others is an activity that can have both good and adverse effects on the life of a carer. More attention has been focused on the bad effects but some research looks at the positive aspects of caring. The main factors affecting carers' lives are noted.

The Carers (Recognition and Services) Act 1995 came into force on 1 April 1996. It entitles carers who are providing substantial amounts of care on a regular basis to an assessment of their needs and ability to care. Local authorities are required to take the results of this assessment into account when making decisions about services. This paper reports the key findings of a two-year study, conducted in Wales, that evaluated the process and outcomes of assessments carried out under the auspices of the Carers Act.

Diane Seddon and Catherine Robinson describe their study looking at the first-hand experiences of family carers who also have paid employment. 

This paper presents findings from a qualitative study that sought to identify what works well in supporting older people to live in their own homes and local communities. Drawing on data from six focus groups conducted with key stakeholders, including older people, carers, care managers and direct service providers, the shortcomings of existing services to meet the needs of older people are recognised and the paper seeks to move discusion forward to what might help improve provision.

This article presents the key findings from a collaborative study about the experiences and support needs of carers whose relatives are admitted into a nursing or residential care home. Drawing upon data from carers' qualitative accounts, it considers carers' post‐admission roles, responsibilities and profiles, and the contribution carers make to the continued care of their relative. Carers' post‐admission caring experiences are described in detail and differences between spouse carers and carers involved in looking after a parent are identified.