Who Cares?

I'm a carer and I'm very worried about the way the the elderly and their carers are treated in the UK.

The care system here relies on the goodwill of carers who have made great personal and financial sacrifices to look after elderly relatives. Many have had to give up their own homes and jobs, and, with limited pension prospects and financial resources, they face a grim time in their own old age.

This situation clearly isn't good for any of us, or the country, and something needs to be done about it soon.

I decided to see if I could do something to prod the government into taking some kind of action. They seem to be very keen on online government, so I've set up a petition on the Prime Minister's website asking him to establish a Royal Commission to investigate the whole issue thoroughly.

This isn't just another internet petition; it's been set up using the government's own petition system and they do seem to take some notice of such petitions. Don't forget that a recent petition on road pricing received 1,811,060 signatures, something which seems to have given the government pause for thought.

I realise that many of you will tell me that I'm mad or stupid and that this is a totally pointless course of action, but I hope that you'll still sign the petition when you've done that. Something needs to be done to improve the care system in the UK, and if enough people sign up we might just be able to take the first few steps towards making those improvements.

The petition is at http://petitions.pm.gov.uk/carecommission/, but I'm afraid that you can't sign unless you're a British citizen or resident. You must also give your real name (which will be shown on the website), your address and email address (which won't be shown). Once you've signed up, you'll receive an email message containing a link which you must follow before your name is entered on the petition; if you don't receive the message, you may need to look in your spam folder.

One final thought: you may not think that this affects you, but, sooner or later, it probably will, and it almost certainly affects someone you know right now.

Thank you, and if you agree that something needs to be done, please tell your friends about the petition.