The next we have private clubs type of support groups which DON’T help Carers because the general public have NO IDEA what goes on in them and WON’T join merely to ’see’, out of sigh tout of mind should be the motto’s there.

Lets be realistic here, up to now NOT ONE charity (both main Carer charities work hand-in-hand to block Carers having access to government consultation bodies don’t forget) has tackled the one single most requested topic, the disgraceful level of Carers Allowance, they phaff around the edges so YES, it IS an ‘us and them’ battle and if Carers UK’s followers want to say I’m wrong in my attitude then I really don’t care BUT one thing I would NEVER do is to post on the internet that one of their followers had a police record, that merely destroys ANY credibility of the charity they follow, which is what a certain Carers UK member has been doing.

So if ANY organisation wants to know what is what they need to contact US and that is the reality of the matter, we have proved Carers are more than able to speak for themselves

Not only are carers undervalued but they are also isolated. The ‘online caring community’ is a lifeline to the outside world and organisations like Carers UK and National Carers Forum (http://tonyrhodes.f.xaviermedia.com/)provide that practical and emotional support we all need from time to time however long we’ve been caring.

Till my mams death last year I never classed myself as a carer even though she was 24/7 the last few yrs of her life.I was a daughter first and always.It was only when she died, when I had the time to search the internet,to read up on things that I realised what was happening ‘out there’.Realised just how the situation for carers was at breaking point for many but for so many different reasons,be it lack of services or financial.

For me CarersUK,http://www.carersuk.org/Forums/index.php, was a godsend.Not just the online forum but the organisation itself.I still care for my 40 yr old disabled brother and after mams death, complications arose.CUK’s helpline were able to help and advise and through them I received proper legal advice.

Saying carers suffer from pride is so far from the truth its unbelievable.Most carers that I know both for real and online are the most selfless group of people I know.

You want to know who should bear part of the blame? The media should stand up and admit they haven’t done a thing to help Carers, even worse when they do run the occasional article it’s the stereo-typical ‘poor unsung angel, salt of the earth’ type of Carer, that’s become insulting and patronising to every Carer I know.

You’ll hear all sorts of things like “Carers should be united” or “the charities are doing their best to change things” and it’s absolute rubbish, Carers need to realise the best way to get change is to utilise the internet and send a message to politicians where the public can see it, that’s not on sparsely populated closed/private forums, not on Carers UK’s message board (government lapdogs) Carers need to use their brains and at present that ain’t happenin’ because some think they know best by taking a ‘reasonable’ approach, the past 40 years have taught these ‘reasonable’ people NOTHING.
You want more of the same then carry on down the same path, you want change then you need to swallow your pride

Jacqui

The Report studied the various options for funding care in detail and the main recommendation stated,

‘The costs of long-term care should be split between living costs, housing costs and personal care. Personal care should be available after assessment, ACCORDING TO NEED AND PAID FOR FROM GENERAL TAXATION: the rest should be subject to co-payment according to means’.

On the question of affordability the Report says,

‘The need for proper limitation of public spending is a reality which we readily acknowledge….. We consider that our main recommendations, estimating additional costs of up to £1.1 billion, is affordable.’

The recommendations were never implemented, except in Scotland where free care is subsidised, in effect, by the English taxpayer.

Because the government ignored these recommendations, the Royal Commissioners published a further damning statement in 2003. It concludes,

‘In recent years many additional £ billions have been allocated to the public services and to the NHS in particular, according to some without much visible improvement. …… It cannot make sense that this sum (ie £1.1 billion) is not affordable. It patently is. … There are no overwhelming impediments to the implications of the Royal Commission’s recommendations.’

The Statement goes on to re-iterate that funding was not a problem then and was not envisaged to be a problem in the future.

Both the Report and the Statement are are available to view on the Internet. They deal with various questions about care and carers which should concern every member of society. (Easiest to try googling for them but post here if you can’t find them.)

So, every carer and every elderly or disabled person should be asking Gordon Brown – why have you deliberately ignored this report for eight years and what are you going to do about it now?

I’m just entering my 21st year of caring and ever year the services and all round attitude to our older generation and their carers has got worse.

We’re talking about a generation who went through wars, suffered rationing, losses of their homes and loved ones and now when they need help they’re just pushed to the back of the queue – the Government wants people to live in their own homes rather than residential care, they want patients out of hospital and treated at home yet the resources aren’t there – instead they throw silly money away on giving pregnant mothers money to eat healthy foods, how are pensioners and their carers supposed to do the same on the pittance the Government gives them in ’so called’ benefit, a benefit which is snatched away at when the carer gets to retirement age because of some antiquated overlapping rule.

Recently Mum had a thankfully brief spell in hospital and I was appalled at the treatment by the staff, patients were ignored, Mum’s medication was missed, staff couldn’t care less – it was down to visitors to help patients feed (even though I was assured my blind Mum would be helped if I hadn’t insisted on going in at mealtimes she wouldn’t have eaten anything), my sister even ended up helping another lady who couldn’t manage because the staff were too busy or couldn’t be bothered to help – these people are paid to ‘care’ for patients but yet again I had to step in because quite frankly I didn’t trust my Mum in their care.

Until the general attitude to the elderly in society changes then the standard of care and the value placed on carers will never change.

The government is aleady being supplied information by the Carers Charities. They have at present The All Party Carers Group.
The question has to be asked what has the APCG being doing for the past few months for there to be a need of another commissioned report? Have they not been hot on the trail of this elusive information?

It’s not difficult to know what is needed Carers have hardly been behaving like coy victorian virgins on their wedding night about imparting the information.

Carers have been emailing and writing to various Government Ministers and the Prime Minsters, past and present for decades.
Carers have set up their own petitions on the E Petition government site. They have posted comments on the Theyworkforyou (notthatyouwouldeverguessit) website.

There has been newspaper and magazine articles, TV and Radio programmes and there are a mass of Carer Forums on the internet. What possible justification can there be for Factfinding Commision? It can only be yet another ploy to delay delivering the solutions.

I am puzzled by the assertion that it is the 45 – 54 age group that are most likely to be providing care for older people. In my experience, it is spouses – most often people who are themselves in their 70s, 80s and more – who do the lion’s share, and then sons and daughters who are quite likely themselves be over 55 (sometimes well over). After all if you are 50, your parents are only likely to 75 or so and may well in many cases (though not all of course)be in perfectly good health.

I wonder if it is just that those in the 45 – 54 age group are the most likely to identify themselves as ‘carers’. Can anyone clarify this point? What research came up with this assertion, and did it check on the older age groups?

Tessa