Care system 'confusing' families says watchdog

Families are being driven to 'breaking point' by an increasingly complex social care system, warns a consumer watchdog. As a result, it has launched a website for those seeking clear information.

Which? claims people trying to organise care for a loved one face a 'maze' of confusing advice and information, while those who are not eligible for state funding are finding it difficult to even obtain simple information.

The comments are a result of research that asked 30 people across the UK to keep a diary as they tried to organise care for their partners, parents or themselves.

"Organising care is a complex process," said Which? executive director Richard Lloyd. "But we found it's often made worse by a lack of relevant information, confusing jargon and some services leaving people to work it out for themselves, resulting in unnecessary distress for family carers."

A recent separate Which? survey of more than 1,000 people found that four in ten people who may need to look into care in the next two years either for themselves or on behalf of someone else said they didn’t understand where to go for information or advice, and half said they don’t understand how to access services to help live at home. Even those who had looked into care recently didn’t have all the knowledge you’d expect and one in five said they didn’t understand where to go for information.

In light of these findings, Which? has launched a new website, Elderly Care, to provide free advice on organising care. Its advice is divided into four main sections including housing options and finance. As well as supplying detailed advice on the different types of care available the website also provides checklists and links to other useful organisations and websites.

With major changes to the care system underway, it’s important that standards remain high, which means people need to feel confident to speak up when things go wrong says Which? The organisation is campaigning to make complaints count in public services to give people the confidence that their feedback will make a difference and will trigger action.