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Family caregivers are indispensable, yet they often feel underappreciated and inadequately supported by nurses and social workers. When they visit a hospitalized loved one, they may never be asked, "How are you doing? How are you managing?" They need more help on two fronts: becoming better caregivers and avoiding becoming patients themselves.

The views of carers are often overlooked, but the winner of the Cancer Nursing category at the 2005 NT Awards put them at the centre of a project to improve care for patients with lung cancer, reports Clare Lomas. [Introduction]

A fifth of adults with learning difficulties live with elderly parent. This article looks at how well the social care sector is serving this population of carers.

Summary of the conclusions of a government consultation programme to develop a strategy to support informal carers. [(BNI unique abstract)] 0 references

Reviews three Web sites on social work. Features of the Web site of the Young Carers Research Group; Design of the Web site bubblycrew.org; Topics covered by the Princess Royal Trust for Carers site.

The article focuses on the important role played by carers in the society in Great Britain. Carers allow the people that they look after to stay in the community making it vital for them to be supported continuously. The Carers (Equal Opportunities) Act of 2004 was introduced to ensure that carers are determined, educated about their rights and informed that public agencies support their initiatives. It stresses the need to develop carers' lack of self-confidence and self-esteem to avoid disadvantages in other endeavors.

Luke Clements is full of praise for the guidance accompanying the Carers and Disabled Children Act, which spells out, among other things, which carers are entitled to assessments and services.

After a damning report [The state of social care in England 2005-6] which revealed the increasing burden on friends and family members who support people with care needs, Amy Taylor, Mary Garboden and Simeon Brody look at the reasons behind the crisis and whether it is retrievable. 

For sufferers of dementia and their carers, there are many questions to be answered; not only about what the long term will bring, but also simply how to cope with the unfolding of everyday living. In our first article, Graham Stokes looks at some of the practicalities of coping with the illness and offers useful tips and advice that will hopefully provide some reassurance and pointers for managing day‐to‐day tasks more easily.

The approaching financial challenges within health and social care are well heralded and will inevitably cause strain in the care system. It is likely that in the name of efficiency there will be reductions in hospital in-patient stays and a reluctance by local authorities to extend their provision for those with significant care needs. Indeed, the context is being set for further exploitation of carers in the coming years.