Insuring against old age! Once upon a time we used to provide for our non-working days with a pension. Many people left school and worked for the same company for donkey’s years lookin… Read More

Another of my musings! Instant Have you noticed how instant we are becoming? Children fed on demand, feed me, feed me now. Years ago, the rule was four hourly feeds and baby you left baby to… Read More

Street Wardens for the elderly We all know we are an increasingly ageing society. We all know there are insufficient funds and provisions for our elderly as it stands, so how do we help and… Read More

Maintaining brain health for people with dementia Physical health, nutrition, mood . . . caregivers of aging parents with dementia are vigilant about monitoring and addressing so many aspect… Read More

“Lost for words” Easy to use communication sheets Imagine being trapped in your own mind, knowing what you want to say, but just not knowing how to say it. Imagine having had a s… Read More

About you carers? You care for a loved one, simply because you care for them or love them but who cares for you. Would you know where to turn if you needed help or support? Would your GP be… Read More

  Screening for Abdominal aortic aneurysm. In England, screening for AAA is offered to men during the year they turn 65. Men aged 65 or over are most at risk of AAAs. Screenin… Read More

It’s official Caron Cares is a Top 10 UK Health Blog I am incredibly pleased and slightly humbled to have had Caron Cares listed as one of the UK’s top 10 Health blogs, alongside… Read More

The Perfect Care Home. I have followed the work of Paul Burstow for some time now and this article mirrored one I wrote years ago about “My ideal care home, in an ideal world” He… Read More

A Heavy Heart and a Soap Box Today has been a monumental day for all the wrong reasons seeing the future funding of social care cut in the UK. Even more cuts to social care in an ageing Coun… Read More

  Political Hats I wrote this before the General Election, better late than never to share here! POLITICAL HATS.   I never used to think of myself as politically minded. One day I… Read More

Scams and how to protect someone elderly With an estimated 50% of elderly people reportedly being targetted for scams, I feel we need some clearly stated facts educating us, Scam alert educa… Read More

Do you carry an aspirin with you at all times? No nor do I, however, it may be worth starting to do so. Having an aspirin close to hand may just save your life or someone else’s. If yo… Read More

Simple Tips For Rethinking Arthritis Pain This is a guest post from Joe Flemming, from Vive Health. Arthritis pain in shoulders, knees, ankles, and other joints is not easy to deal with, esp… Read More

Short post this one,   OMG! I have been nominated! The post Pride of Britain Award appeared first on Caron Cares Read More

Blepharitis What is Blepharitis and and how can you treat it? It was only whilst I was at a Care show in London recently, I realised I have not covered the irritating eye condition of Blepha… Read More

  Get Outside Research finds care home design isn’t depressing – providing you can actually get outside  With around 40% of residents in UK care homes having significan… Read More

Cuts, cuts, and more cuts. Local authorities plan to find £824m of savings, meaning they will be spending £6bn less on social care than in 2010 when austerity began. Cuts to soci… Read More

Arm Protectors for carers I caused an absolute hoo-hah the other week on social media when I shared the photo below of me wearing a GIP arm protector. As an eldercare blogger I see it a… Read More

Empathy Apathy The recent revelations that Bupa, making £700 million a year profit from care homes are the perpetrators of “institutional abuse’ shocked the Nation, for all… Read More

Bike not Buggy Whilst they may not be Bradley Wiggins, have you noticed how some elderly people still cycle everywhere? This is because they find cycling easier that walking and this article… Read More

I was driving through Taunton in Somerset recently and saw a blue “Driving Miss Daisy” car for the first time. I came home and read more about this brilliant initiative. Working… Read More

  Care Co-operative helps self-funders This is a very interesting initiative for people self-funding care. This article was in the Telegraph and I am sharing it here in its entirety. He… Read More

Carer’s week June 12-18th One week to draw attention to the amazing job carers do day in day out. Is that really enough? Should we need to have such a week? Should carers not be automa… Read More

  Think Drink As the temperatures start to rise it becomes more and more important to check that our elderly are drinking sufficient water to avoid becoming dehydrated. Many elderly peo… Read More

  Constipation needn’t be a pain in the bum! This article has been kindly written for Caron Cares by  Nutritionist Hazel Pelham and looks at some gentle, effective solutions… Read More

Age Related Sarcopenia One in 20 older people and one in three who live in residential or nursing home may have age-related Sarcopenia. This is the term for loss of muscle mass and strength… Read More

OOops! As a blogger/writer I tell it like it is. No mincing my words, no apologies. I don’t make things up and I don’t exaggerate. I just tell it as it is. I was given two r… Read More

Evicted In old age, your home is your castle, safe as houses as the saying goes. Or so it should be. However, there are more and more instances where people are being “Evicted” f… Read More

Vet Vouchers The ideal gift for someone elderly who has a pet. Ever struggled to buy an elderly relative, friend or neighbour a gift for their Birthday or at Christmas? Do they have a pet? I… Read More

In praise of our NHS As a health and social care blogger, I decided to put the NHS emergency services to the test. Only joking, that would be really irresponsible of me, not to mention selfi… Read More

Mobility Scooters I am the biggest advocate for keeping our elderly independent, however not at the cost of accident and injury to other people. Mobility scooters, magic or madness? Mor… Read More

The Election Here goes! I never used to think of myself as politically minded. One day I was with a care home owner I was interviewing for a Devon Life article, and he said “Take off y… Read More

Gifting Assets   (Shared from the WHICH website and very important to read and know) The cost of care – residential care homes and nursing homes in particular – can be very… Read More

Pharmacy 2 U Are you busy caring for someone elderly and find getting to the pharmacy difficult. Does you local chemist not offer a home delivery service? Pharmacy 2 U may well offer the per… Read More

Battle Burnout More and more campaigners are finding themselves facing Battle Burnout. People like Jenny Moore who has fought for 7 years to have the voices of elderly people heard. Carol Di… Read More

  Care Teams are the way forward The image above is one of my “Blue Sky Thinking” presentation slides, where I champion small care teams. Source: Buurtzorg: the Dutch model… Read More

Giving up driving Most of us rely on our cars and don’t want to think about the day we may have to consider giving up driving. One of my clients gave up his car this month after 80 yea… Read More

  High Blood Pressure High Blood pressure increases your risk not only of a stroke or heart attack but also developing kidney disease and dementia. Simplified, blood pressure is the pre… Read More

In praise of the NHS Nowadays all we seem to hear about is how the NHS is failing our elderly, certain treatments refused on the grounds of age, poor standards of care in overstretched and u… Read More

Stairlifts change lives I was contacted by Jennifer Isles of Acorn Stair lifts with this case study proving what an amazing difference they can make to someone’s’ life. An 81-yea… Read More

Does exercise slow ageing? We all know that exercise is good for controlling pain, weight, sleeping and just simply feeling better. Studies show it can help prevent diseases associated with… Read More

Recognising Elder Abuse Elder Abuse is not acceptable – Would you recognise some of the less obvious signs ?  We all have the right to feel and be safe, regardless of our age… Read More

When should someone stop driving? When do you think elderly people should stop driving? Should there be a stated age, or re-test ? For many elderly drivers their car means independence… Read More

  NCC Home Learning are offering the public 1000 free courses in order to raise awareness of how to deal with diabetes, as well as general first aid awareness Following an incident wher… Read More

Social Care Alliance Over the course of the past 5 years, I have found myself mutate from reporter, using Caron Cares as a useful depository for information to a campaigner The fact that we… Read More

HAPPY 5th BIRTHDAY TO CARON CARES Today I am celebrating a milestone. Caron Cares has reached it’s 5th Birthday. Most Bloggers get bored and give up after one year, but I am still goin… Read More

Transient Ischaemic Attacks – T.I.A’s A transient ischaemic attack (TIA) is in essence a mini stroke. It is caused by a temporary disruption in the blood supply to part of t… Read More

“People, not Problems” As a blogger and social media nightmare of the eldercare sector, I see it as my duty to keep up to date with media and in particular the online press cover… Read More

The Herbert Protocol – Please read Alert message sent 09/03/2017 08:35:00 Information sent on behalf of Cheshire Constabulary “Stolen to share from the Cheshire Constabulary… Read More

GP Shortage starts to bite. Patients will lose their “automatic right” to a same-day doctor’s appointment under new plans to cope with the shortage of GPs. My thoughts -I c… Read More

GB Care Awards – National Finals Friday the 31st of March saw thousands of people who work in the social care sector gather at the International Conference Centre in Birmingham for a g… Read More

  Tiredness in later life Many people say they feel they are slowing down as they get older. Even my bionic Mother admits to needing to take things a little easier now she is over 70. F… Read More

Smart Phone, Smart Ideas The New amplicomms M9500 is the first Smartphone that turns into a remotely controlled device so Care Givers can support operation of the Phone or help in an Emergen… Read More

Manchester care-home judged one of the very best in the country Dystlegh Grange receives “Outstanding” rating from C.Q.C. Care Home in the Country’s top *0.5% A Greater Man… Read More

Speech loss For someone who is rarely short of words, the prospect of not being able to effectively communicate would devastate me. Imagine feeling “devastated” and not being abl… Read More

  Who do you tell in the event of a death? You have just lost a loved one and your world has lost its sense of reality. You are in a bubble and feel like the only person who has ever be… Read More

This is what I never want to see – care home residents – monitored on screens from behind a desk “Is remote health monitoring technology the future for health care?”… Read More

  Excellent Care needs to be applauded Carole Anne Langmead, from Barnstaple, in Devon, is a Health & Social Care apprentice who scooped a prestigious national award. Coming in 4th… Read More

Making Mother’s Day less painful if you no longer have your Mum with you. Thoughtful and sensitive advice from Cruse. Please share this with someone who may appreciate it. If you found… Read More

Loneliness is bad for your health – Fact. I have just stumbled across the wonderful work of Amy Perrin who is an occupational therapist. She started working to combat loneliness for el… Read More

Over prescribing for the elderly is dangerous Having visited my doctors recently and jokingly been told they just “give you pills” – I left with a whole list of them myself… Read More

Equity Release and State Benefits More and more people are choosing to stay in their own homes and pay for home care as opposed to move to residential care when they get older. Many people i… Read More

White Coat Syndrome Have you heard of this syndrome? Until yesterday I hadn’t, so I decided I had better write an article on it as I think this affects me! I visited my GP following a… Read More

Planning Ahead – Why local planners need to speak to the elderly. Local planners need to consult with the elderly now to design for the elderly in the future. Simply issues to someone… Read More

The Big Knit – Fundraising for Age UK. The Big Knit, how have I missed writing about this for so long, especially as I have been sending out room thermometers on behalf of Age UK for f… Read More

Point to Sheets! I love what I do with such a passion. I write here on my blog and elsewhere and also   have a slightly unhealthy, overactive association with social media. This new &ld&hell…Read More

Diversity diets in Care Catering for special diets is an area of increasing concern in social care, but some charities and nutritionists are stepping up to the plate This is a very interesti… Read More

NHS continuing healthcare This is an incredible minefield of postcode lottery, form filling and a little bit of bureaucracy thrown in for good measure. I have tried to write in easy to follo… Read More

Let’s talk about Erectile Dysfunction! That’s part of the problem, isn’t it? No-one does want to talk about erectile dysfunction, though, do they? It’s understandable… Read More

Former Liverpool striker Ian St John calls on football’s leaders to look after former professionals who have dementia and Alzheimer’s disease. I ask, “With the likes of Way… Read More

Gina Awad has recently been honoured at the Alzheimer’s Society National Dementia Friendly Awards with the accolade of “Dementia Champion of the Year 2016”. Gina lives very… Read More

  When I created Caron Cares, I needed to let people know about it. I lost track of the number of times I begged the media to give me some column space. Nothing, or very little was the… Read More

Prostate Cancer- What should you look out for gentlemen?  (and your ladies too!) There are currently 36,000 men in the UK alone who discover they have prostate cancer each year. That is… Read More

Self-employed and unregulated Builders, barmaids and bankrupt businessmen are jetting in as care workers for the elderly, amid a spiralling crisis in social care. Source: ‘Jet-in&rsquo&hell…Read More

Be Clear on Cancer and other conditions No-one likes to think about cancer and heart disease but early detection saves lives With it becoming increasingly difficult for patients to see their… Read More

Happy Valentines Day – Look after your heart. Please watch this video and have the heart to share it today . using the share buttons at footer of this post.  With as many as… Read More

This is such an inspiring story and for once a postivie one too ! Source: ‘You’re never too old to try something new’: the UK’s oldest care worker | Social Care Netwo… Read More

My invitation to speak to academics and researchers! My blog is a resource but it is also a tool for conversation. Well here and the fast-flowing torrent of Facebook. If you are not followin… Read More

Cuts, cuts and more cuts and a Government unable to solve the problem in the social care disaster. Association says some of its 370 councils are struggling to meet legal requirement so badly… Read More

  Changing lives for older people through access to advocacy Cancer affects many older people.Did you know that there has been a 23 percent increase in the number of older people (aged… Read More

The Silver Line – A Life Line What a difference a voice makes. Now into its fourth year, I wonder how many of us really knew just how vital this confidential support service would prov… Read More

Devon Really Does Care – Does your county ? Devon is the third largest county in the UK and has an older than average population. With so many elderly people living here, why am I stil… Read More

   Care crisis will require people to be as responsible for their parents as they are their children Source: Take care of your elderly mothers and fathers, says Tory minister | Soc… Read More

   Care crisis will require people to be as responsible for their parents as they are their children Caring for Mum and Dad – Caron Cares can help, “un-expected carers… Read More

I saw this coming, just hoped it never would. I am greatly saddened at hout we as a developed nationa are so woefully dictating to our elderly and disabled. Money counts, people’s righ… Read More

You are never too old to exercise. Older woman who do not exercise daily have cells biologically older than their actual age, research suggests. Source: Sedentary lifestyle in older women &l&hell…Read More

A quick note from me, Caron Sprake,  the passionate writer of Caron Cares. You may have noticed that this year, I have started to include more press articles on my blog. This is not an… Read More

  A quarter of men “could be spared invasive prostate biopsies” if gland was scanned first. Source: ‘Huge leap’ in prostate cancer testing – BBC News The b… Read More

Keep an eye on your eye health Nowadays, an eyesight test does so much more than just check your vision and eye health. A sight test now can also spot the early signs of illnesses such as di… Read More

The Dementia Assistance Range. In 2015, I had the idea of a card to help people with dementia and their families. A year on and the cards have had over 4,800 downloads. I later added a card… Read More

Be grateful for what we do have. (My second article for the Huffington Post. Shared here first. Please let me know your thoughts.)   A recent visit to Goa has certainly given me food fo… Read More

 Thank you for getting me to the Finals again. I am delighted to announce that for the third consecutive year Caron Cares has made it to the finals of the UK Blog Awards. As always comp… Read More

  Pack your bag! Such a simple idea that can really prevent someone elderly from having an even worse time if admitted to hospital in an emergency. A hospital bag should contain any ite… Read More

Operation Christmas Dinner Months of planning and organising saw the culmination of ” Operation Christmas Dinner” a UK-wide initiative, providing elderly and terminally ill… Read More

Social Care, in the balance – or have the scales tipped? “I’ll Huff and I’ll puff and I’ll close care homes and agencies down,” … said the big bad… Read More

The Queen acknowledges carers I have copied her speech in it’s entirity to mark the fact that she has acknowledged the unsung heroes that do so much caring for loved ones and saving th… Read More

This is a true Story – my Boxing day funny. I share this one each Boxing Day, until I find something funnier. One of the people I care for asked me whether I made my own Christmas Cake… Read More

No-tie shoe laces. Bending down to tie laces gets harder as you get older, it’s also tricky for anyone with a bad back or someone who is heavily pregnant. Over the years, I have tried… Read More

Christmas gift ideas for someone elderly or someone with dementia. With less than a week to go to Christmas Day I hope you are all sorted by now. If not and you are struggling to think what… Read More