I know from experience with my mother that the problem with social care is not that there is too little, but that what there is is utterly chaotic

Gordon Brown’s promise to reform social care for the elderly is very welcome. My experiences over the last few years of looking after my elderly mother have really shocked me; I’ve realised that this issue is one of the most important and neglected issues our society faces. But I have my doubts already about whether the government will really tackle some of the fundamental problems with the current system. My experiences have also shown me that the problems with provision of care for the elderly are not all to do with cash. Many are a result of incoherent, un-joined up, impersonal provision that throws technology and medical fixes at old people and doesn’t look at their care holistically.

Full article: http://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2008/may/12/anageoldproblem