[Margaret Pilkington]

Yes G, you are right. It saddens me that there are people out there who would make excellent carers......because they have the practical skills, but are rejected because they don't have paper qualifications.
Some of the very best caring lessons I learned were from untrained(but very experienced) nursing auxiliaries.

There is also and issue of understaffing too...which I think has got much worse.(I noticed this when Ma was in hospital after her stroke)
When understaffing is talked of it isn't just numbers of people doing the caring, it is the right kind of carers...the ratios of trained to untrained(obviously it is cheaper to pay someone who is untrained).

You are right about kindness....and being made to feel important, they are as important as medicine.........when there is no time to be kind, it is indeed a very sad situation.