Talking about care – Elder factsheet
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Arrange careFamily support
As one of life’s biggest decisions, we believe it’s vital for people to feel they can talk openly about their later life care, and recognise how powerful these conversations can be.
To understand how families across the UK feel talking about care, we surveyed over 700 people who either had an older loved one needing care, or were considering their own care needs. The survey focused on how they’ve felt having these conversations in the past, or how they would feel discussing care with their loved ones.
74%
of family members would find it difficult to bring up care with an older loved one
57%
of family members felt particularly uncomfortable at the thought of discussing funding and finances with an older loved one.
27%
of older people who felt they needed care had actually had a conversation with their family about it.
Over
43%
of people felt anxious at the prospect of talking about care.
However...
Just
36%
reported feeling ‘uncomfortable’ or ‘very uncomfortable’ after discussing care with an older loved one.
60%
of older people would actually prefer to have a thorough conversation about care before the need for it arises.
Over 3/4
Of of families largely agreed with the older loved one’s care wishes.
Pete Dowds, Elder's CEO & founder says...
“There’s no question that talking about care may not be completely comfortable, and with social care continuing to dominate headlines it’s no wonder the older generation and their families are feeling apprehensive about having these conversations.
However, a lot of families come to Elder at a time of heightened stress – when mum or dad’s needs have drastically changed and the prospect of care is no longer hypothetical. Being open about our wishes for the future – and starting these discussions as early as we can, gives us a chance to change our perception of care and prepare for this significant life moment. It doesn’t need to be something scary or unknown.
Of course, this requires a societal change too. We need to ensure older people feel confident that their voice will be heard when the time comes. It also needs to be easier for families to access the right information when figuring out how to support loved ones. This is something we’re committed to at Elder – offering advice, protecting the right to choose, and keeping people in control.”
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