Caring and Complexity: Social Work with (unpaid) Carers of Older People

Around 8% of the UK population provide unpaid care to a friend or relative. This article presents findings from a study that examined the skilled and often under-recognised work of social workers supporting older people and carers in England. Conducted across two demographically diverse local authority sites - one rural and one urban - the research involved observations of practice and semi-structured interviews with older people (n=17), carers (n=18) and social workers (n=10) who were based in hospital or community teams. Here, data is presented from social worker and carers’ interviews only.

Three interrelated themes were identified using a framework analysis approach:
(1) Complexities and crisis: capturing the dynamic and multifaceted nature of social work with carers;
(2) Balancing act: highlighting the nuanced skills and ethical judgement required to navigate the competing needs and perspectives of older people and carers; and
(3) Against the odds: reflecting the systemic and organisational barriers that challenge the delivery of person-centred support to carers.

The findings identify points of crisis that routinely trigger social worker engagement with unpaid carers of older people and the need for a ‘co-client’ approach (Twigg and Atkin, 1994), especially when carers are themselves older people. The paper highlights the multi-dimensional and complex nature of social work support with carers that remains under-recognised despite its significance and calls for increased public, policy and professional recognition of the specialised expertise required by social workers supporting carers.