Is the care crisis being cemented by hostility towards those who need care and support? Unfortunately, the quotes were directed for real towards a vulnerable adult in Cornwall. This is not just an issue for Cornwall but for Plymouth and elsewhere too. When society sees people as not people then they simply become figures in the landscape.


Social care may not be a deciding factor for Cornwall getting a Mayor. Would a Mayor make any difference to issues which are deep and have been around for years and years? Both housing and the care crisis fit into this category.


Digitalization of health and social care. Not everyone has the same support worker so what happens when there are issues around capacity? On a more practical level,  many may not have adequate smartphones to use apps like the one pictured. For starters, you need an email address to use it.


What care looks like.

Both our NHS and care system came about from humanity’s darkest hour. Society needs to finally face the care crisis. 


If Learning disabilities and Autism were given a chance how many lives could they help to save? 

The care crisis isn’t just about money but also about how dreams and aspirations have been permanently lost.


Based on reality, but what could happen to Learning Disabilities and Autism if we don’t solve the care crisis?

And more frightening is the way it could be accepted by society.


Here are the new safety boots I bought for work. Also, the exhaust fell off my car, so fingers crossed I get a chance to wear them this week. 


The reality is virtually of my achievements have been made possible by work and family, and ultimately doing the best I can led me to APLE. Even now with mum living in the care home, my welfare is still being supported by her. Why? Because the state and society are unwilling to do something that my mum and dad did and millions of other dads and mum’s do every day, care. Of course, that won’t be possible forever, the phone call saying mum has died could come this afternoon, tomorrow or when I’m at work. (Fingers crossed my car gets repaired quickly, in rural areas something breaking on your car means you won’t be going to work the following day or for a couple of days).

Yes, I get angry when I see wealth around me when sometimes we can’t provide the most basic essentials to live in dignity. And care is about dignity. Also, there is a strong chance that those needing care will be living in poverty. It’s something that is still a taboo subject in Learning Disability and Autism. Like somehow money isn’t relevant or necessary to them. Someone’s care package maybe worth a price of a nearly new family car but the individual needing care may well be living in poverty. Personal budgets are great if the system allows you to have one, but it has also created a situation where a care package could be seen as more valuable than the person in some people’s eyes, and where is the incentive in making someone more independent if the result is care being reduced or withdrawn?

The politics in care is immense. So, I think for all the mums and dads out there that will provide support for longer than any government is willing to do and the families who caring is an everyday necessity, I think it time to finally end the care crisis. It’s a sentence I have been saying for years and years, but I hope this time it’s finally gets listened too. 

Written by APLE Artist in residence Chris Burns.