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"From my experience, and from the experience of some of my friends with elderly relatives, the big thing that everyone says is that they wish they knew what was on offer and what paths they should go down."
"Maybe there's a charity out there that could help me, or something that I haven't looked into. But if I haven't, it's because I didn't know about it. It was something else for me to look into and find out about myself rather than me saying ‘I need help’ and...read more
"Me and my brother didn't live near our parents, but we had to keep going in and trying to get answers. We had to keep fighting for good care and to understand the system."
"I've got loads of patients where they're dealing with one thing and the next thing is falling apart. And nobody is paying attention to that because nobody joins it all together. "
"My greatest concern is the fragmentation of services within health and social care, and the lack of any coordination. I'd really like to see somebody take on the role of managing people's care, which the GP or a key social worker used to do."
"Why can't we have that system for continuous social care when you need it, rather than having these instances that are just too distressing to witness? And usually at a time when the partner is also vulnerable and ageing, and they don't know where to turn."
"Once the recognition had come that my mum's condition was very, very poor, it became very clear that all the focus was on moving her out of that very well-resourced place where she was excellently supported on everything to an every-level facility. That’s the process of moving her into a...read more
"The social worker used to work with the consultant in the hospital on the ward. They used to take the decisions together and it was seamless. But now what’s happened between social care and healthcare is they’ve become separate."
"It's knowing where to go and getting into the system. When my dad got dementia and he couldn't be at home because my stepmother just couldn't cope with him, to get him in a care home and to get him fully funded was a complete nightmare. You're dealing with so...read more
"What I've noticed is that for most people over 70 they've been reduced to helplessness as a result of the pandemic. So many services have gone online. And if they haven't got the internet, they can't book appointments with their GPs. They can't choose times and book within the NHS,...read more
"If you can't advocate for yourself, you don't get adequate health care. And that's as brief as I can put it."
"With regards to continuing health care assessments, I can only describe ours as having been traumatic. The buck passing between social services and health, the lack of accountability. These are all things that have seriously needed addressing for decades and it still hasn't happened. "