Paying for social care (older people)

Andrew, aged 58, is married with two children in their twenties. He is a self-employed publisher but was previously employed and often worked away from home, which was worrying when his mother’s health started to deteriorate. Ethnic background: White British.

Bella, aged 69, is a retired teacher with an MA in Education. She is a lay reviewer for Alzheimer’s Society research. Bella cared for her mother who was diagnosed with dementia. Bella is a divorceé and now lives with her partner. She has two adult children.

Beverley, aged 68, is educated to Masters level and is a retired museum curator. She lives with her partner and they were both involved with care decisions about her partner’s father. Beverley is now supporting her own father to plan care.

Deryck is married with two adult children. He is a retired sales manager. Deryck has no sisters or brothers to share in caring for his mother which, in this case, he thinks is a blessing because he could decide on the best care for his mother.

Frances, aged 52, is a qualified nurse. She is married with two adult sons, who were at secondary school when her father moved in with the family. Frances feels there is not enough reliable support for families who want to help their older relatives.

Hannah is a banking director and commutes to the city from rural central England. She is primary carer and has Power of Attorney for her mother who has lived with dementia for over 10 years. Hannah shares decisions about care with her brother and sister.

Hazel is a retired events coordinator. She is married with one adult daughter. Hazel’s daughter lives abroad and now has children of her own. Hazel was worried because her father lived so far away, so he came to live with her when he was in his nineties. Interviewed online due to 2020 COVID-19 restrictions.

Jacky, aged 65, is a retired teacher. She is married with two adult children. Jacky spent time making sure she knew all about the social care and funding systems and found they can be different depending where in England you live.
 

Jane, aged 60, is self-employed, working part-time. Decisions about her mother’s care were made along with her brother and sister, but since Jane gave up full-time work to spend more time with her mother, most of the care management fell to her.

Janine, aged 63, is married with two adult children. She returned to education in 2007 to complete a degree and a masters while also being the main carer for her mother. Janine has no sisters or brothers so all the care and decisions fell to her. Interviewed online due to 2020 COVID-19 restrictions.

Kate, aged 69, has a Masters in Education. After a career in education, health and social care, Kate had a good understanding of the system but still faced challenges finding quality care for her mother. Kate has no brothers or sisters to assist in her role.

Lynne, aged 65, is a retired financial director. When her parents needed to pay for care, she consulted a financial adviser who specialised in later life care plans. Lynne trusted the adviser and felt they were genuinely working for the family’s benefit.

Marie, aged 40,  has two children aged 11 and 8. She has knowledge of care reviews and assessments through her professional role as a social services team leader. Marie talks about places self-funders can get help and advice. Ethnic background: White British.

Mark, aged 58, is a professional musician. Mark and his brother and sister share decisions about their father’s care. Mark’s father made good financial provision for his retirement and his children hold Lasting Powers of Attorney for finance and health. Interviewed online due to 2020 COVID-19 restrictions.

Nadra is Executive Chair of the National Care Association, an organisation that supports independent care providers. She has been involved in the social care sector for 40 years and has personal experience of helping her parents with their care needs. Interviewed online due to 2020 COVID-19 restrictions.
 

Paula, aged 54, is self-employed and works from home. She is married with three children aged 24, 21 and 17.  Since her work is flexible she is able to manage her mother’s care and household needs.

Sally, aged 66, is a retired senior nurse. She is married with two adult children. Being a nurse, she had some understanding of the social care system, nevertheless, she was surprised how challenging it was to arrange and manage care for her parents. Interviewed online due to 2020 COVID-19 restrictions.

Sarah, aged 55, is married with three adult children. She is a teacher and decided to reduce her hours to work part-time so that she could devote more time to looking after her parents. Interviewed online due to 2020 COVID-19 restrictions.

Simon, aged 60, is retired. He worked as a teacher in secondary education for over 30 years. He helped his father arrange care and manage his finances. They decided to let out his father’s property to pay towards his care home fees.

Sue, aged 55, is a manager at a government department. She is married with four adult children. Sue lives with a recently diagnosed condition that causes pain and fatigue which adds to the challenge of caring for her mother who has dementia. Interviewed online due to 2020 COVID-19 restrictions.

Tracey, aged 59, is married with one adult child. After leaving the Royal Navy, she worked as an admissions officer at a university. She is now retired and works as a volunteer. She lives 3 hours away from her home town, where her parents lived.