Let's Talk About Care

Host Jill Rennie talks to Kari Gerstheimer about why she set up the charity and how the charity is giving free legal advice to  thousands of elderly and disabled people to access social care when they need it and  how the lack of funding and social care workforce shortage is exacerbating the crisis and increasing the workload of the charity.

Host Jill Rennie talks to comedian and author Pope Lonergan about his new book where he shares his raw and honest account of his time working as a care worker, his thoughts on care workers’  wages and retention, the need for society and the government to appreciate care workers and value the work they do, and his care home tour where he performs alongside the residents.

Host Jill Rennie talks to Dr Jane Townson about care workers being denied sick pay because the government has scrapped the infection control fund exacerbating workforce shortages, the problems providers are currently having when they try to recruit overseas care workers and how future technology used through the power of television could be a way to maintain people’s health at home.

Host Angeline Albert talks to Antony Loveless and former nurse Claire Hooper who describe how long Covid left them bedbound for the whole year in 2021. 

Host Sue Learner talks to Amanda Woodvine about the importance of respecting the beliefs of older vegetarians and vegans living in care homes, many of whom have dementia and will have forgotten they don't eat meat

Host Jill Rennie talks to Vic Rayner, CEO of the National Care Forum (NCF) about how social care is viewed in the eyes of the government since the pandemic, how the government should have handled the mandatory vaccine policy and how technology will play an integral role in the future of social care.

Host Sue Learner talks to Camille Leavold, managing director of Abbots Care, a home care provider in the south east of England, about how they have been coping during the pandemic, what she thinks of mandatory vaccination for home care workers and her solution for the recruitment crisis.

Host Angeline Albert talks to traumatic brain injury expert Dr Willie Stewart who says footballs should be sold with a health warning because his study reveals professional footballers have a 5 times higher risk of getting Alzheimer's because of headers.   

Host Jill Rennie talks to Stephen Chandler, president of ADASS, about adult social care, his appearance on BBC One's Panorama, the government's response to the pandemic and how care work is still undervalued and misunderstood.

Host Angeline Albert talks to care home manager Dawn Bunter about how her mental health was impacted after nine  residents died of Covid-19. 

Host Jill Rennie talks to Jess Crawford who has found at the age of 29 she has the gene for  frontotemporal dementia, why she chose to take the test, her decision to start making care plans including choosing a care home and how she is helping others by writing a blog.

Host Angeline Albert talks to Care minister Helen Whately about government response to deaths in care homes,  care home visits etc

Host Jill Rennie talks to Arlene Phillips about her dancing career and the inspirational people she has met such as Freddie Mercury, Ridley Scott and Andrew Lloyd Webber.  She also talks about her time on Strictly Come Dancing and her departure from the series, being an ambassador for the Alzheimer's Society as well as lockdown and how it has affected people living with dementia and tips for keeping healthy at any age.

 Host Jill Rennie talks to Grace Meadows, programme director of Music for Dementia, a charity boosting awareness of the benefits of music and its power to connect and stimulate people with dementia and reduce anxiety. They discuss the charity’s campaign for music to be seen as integral to the care of people with dementia and how care homes can still safely hold singing sessions despite Covid restrictions.

Host Sue Learner talks to Martin Jones, chief executive of Home Instead Senior Care about how caring for his father has shaped the way he leads the UK's biggest home care provider.  He reveals how Home Instead Senior Care has been coping during the pandemic and his vision for home care.

Host Angeline Albert talks to  care  home manager Mark Topps , who caught COVID-19 and  says care homes are struggling to get enough free PPE each day because of restrictions placed on them by the government.

Host Angeline Albert asks why should care homes and home care agencies champion LGBT+ rights?
Ramses Underhill-Smith, the MD of the UK's first LGBT+ home care firm, shares his personal insight into why it matters. Alice Wallace, director of charity Opening Doors London says every care setting should get Pride In Care accreditation.       

Host Angeline Albert speaks to care worker Anugwom Goodluck who battled to protect care home residents from COVID-19 but now faces deportation to Nigeria. He talks about fleeing from terrorists and why he fears his life is at risk.