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Children as young as five are spending more time caring for a relative than they spend at school. Catharine Sadler reports on how nurses can identify and support young carers.

Ask the experts is a forum in which consultant nurses working with older people debate an issue in older people's care and offer advice. This month, Soline Jerram, consultant nurse: older people and intermediate care, from Windsor, Ascot and Maidenhead PCT, poses questions brought to her by intermediate care staff and informal carers.

School nurses should be 'champions' for young carers and support them in times of crisis, according to new government guidance.

Dear Editor, For too long, the needs of young carers have fallen between the growing gap that separates adults’ and children’s services. Recent news coverage has once again highlighted the needs of these children but it is time to move forward and look at implementing solutions.