The NIHR funded Older People and Frailty Policy Research Unit is holding a one-hour webinar (19th January at 1pm) to present and discuss the findings from their research project, ‘The impact of Care Act easements on co-resident carers aged 70+ looking after their spouse or partner living with dementia at home’ (see webpage here)

The webinar will be of interest to policy makers, local authorities, health and social care workers, third sector organisations, advocacy groups, and anyone with an interest in formal and informal care and support of older people.

The Coronavirus Act 2020 included the unprecedented power for local authorities to temporarily suspend the majority of their adult social care duties required under the Care Act 2014. These suspensions were known as “easements.” The research aimed to understand the impact of the easements on this group of carers and those responsible for safeguarding within local authorities, whilst also exploring the wider social impacts and implications of the suspension of these legal rights.

During the webinar we will present an overview of the findings from interviews with Principal Social Workers and Safeguarding Leads from 20 local authorities and 48 interviews with older co-resident carers, and a national survey of carers' experiences during the pandemic.

The research revealed a complex picture of local authorities acting under extreme pressures with greatly stretched resources in crisis circumstances, and of a largely hidden group of carers struggling without access to many pre-existing support routes.

The webinar will consider the current and future implications of the projects findings for policy and practice.

Once registered, you will be able to join the Zoom session by selecting the 'Access Link' on the Online Event Page.

If you have any questions or queries, please contact linda.welch@manchester.ac.uk

NIHR OPF PRU: The impact of Care Act Easements - lessons from the pandemic