My mother has been selected to be part of her council’s experiment with Telecare. All over the country, councils and private companies are pioneering the use of technologies to help vulnerable people remain in their own homes. The equipment includes sensors fitted near stoves to detect overheating, carbon monoxide detectors and alarm necklaces to mobilise help if my mother falls in her home. All these alarms are connected to the telephone through which wardens can first try to talk to Mum, then ring designated contacts.

Read more: http://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2007/aug/25/familyandrelationships.longtermcare

A visit from social services overruns and it is already lunch time. My mother seems tired, and I guess she hasn’t had breakfast so I hurry to the shop. I avoid packaged sandwiches, worrying that if they were made up days before, they might make her ill, hunting instead for something healthy. But the choice is limited and unappetising. I settle for bread, hummus and some rather dodgy-looking guacamole.

Read more: http://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2007/aug/18/familyandrelationships.family7