Rprt

This literature review on choice in mental health was commissioned by the Department of Health in July 2005 and submitted to the Department in January 2006. The main part of the review looked at the English language literature on choice in mental health over the past five years. It aimed to identify in particular what tools there are to help people make meaningful choices; what media are effective in facilitating decision-making; and to what extent methods such as advance directives might be used.

This study was carried out by the National Centre for Social Research and King’s College London and commissioned and co-funded by Comic Relief and the Department of Health. It presents findings of in-depth interviews with a selection of older people who have experienced abuse and mistreatment.

Too often, our ageing society is observed with the growing costs of health or state pensions in mind. However, the implications for families and for support provided across the generations are less well-explored, though no less radical. Drawing on new public polling as well as long-run data, this study charts how the shape of the extended family has evolved over time. It goes on to explore how the support given across the intergenerational family has changed historically and how it may alter in the future.

The European Commission (DG EMPL) invited tenders for a study of care provision within families and the socio-economic impact of family care-giving. The tender was won by a team of researchers from the Social Policy Research Unit, University of York, England and Vilans, the Dutch Expertise Centre on Long-Term Care.

Adults with long-term and multiple health conditions and disabilities are living longer. The age group most likely to need care – those aged 85 and older - is rising faster than the population as a whole. This report, the first in a series on adult care, describes a care system in which rising needs, reducing local authority spending, and reductions in benefits may be putting unsustainable pressure on informal carers and acute health services.

The Caring with Confidence (CwC) programme aimed to provide support to 37,000 carers in England. It was the largest programme of training for carers ever planned in the UK, with a total budget of £15.2m over three years. It was designed to provide training and support to carers, thereby giving them greater choice and control in different aspects of their lives.

This report is based on findings from a large national survey of carers’ views carried out between November 2002 and February 2003. Under Pressure focuses on two principle questions: how has the mechanism introduced to provide carers with a gateway to statutory support, the carers’ assessment, been received?; and what helps carers to support their own health and well being?

The Princess Royal Trust for Carers is a UK-wide network of 144 independent Carers’ Centres, which offer support including information, training, facilitating access to statutory services and benefits reviews. The Trust supports the network by providing a national voice for carers, and facilitating The Network to provide carers with the support they need. This report shows that an investment of less than £5 million in services provided by five carers' centres resulted in at least £73 million worth of social gains in a year.

This document has been written to act as a resource for all those involved in developing or providing online services for carers and their families. Many organisations and local authorities are currently exploring how the internet can be used to reach more carers and to provide services more effectively. This guide offers advice and direction on the creation and expansion of websites and other online services for carers, based on the experiences of providers and the views of carers themselves.