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The government should invest in training social workers, so that quality of care is as high as possible, and at the same time the social status of social workers, professional carers and nursing staff is raised, they are better paid, and young persons would like to choose such careers.

[translate] I hope your study can contribute to helping older people in need of care.

[Translated] I would not want my future to be in the hands of politicians but in the hands of qualified experts.

[Translated] In Belgium, we are immensely lucky that our health care system is based on solidarity. It is important that this continues and is even strengthened to avoid inequalities.

[Translated] It is complicated to get help when the parent who needs it is living abroad (France) and it is impossible for him/her to live alone. Because no retirement home can be found for him/her, the only solution is to take him/her at home (in another country of the European Union)

Thanks for keeping this in the public eye. No easy answers, I’m not sure I agree with all of mine today, but we must keep trying!!

[Translated] I care for my husband after a stroke and brain hemorrhage, which means he needs me around the clock. I would like to have a paid time off of one week once a year and my husband is well taken care of and does not feel “deported”. After all, by taking care of him, I save the state a lot of money!

[translated] You’ve made me think … I will have to come up with a plan for the future.

[translated] Long-term care should be almost exclusively the prerogative of state institutions that should have the necessary infrastructure and resources to respond to the needs of older people and their families.

For the past ten years, I have been providing care to my mother with dementia and complex care needs whilst at the same time raising two children alone following the break-up of my marriage due to domestic abuse, and trying to combine this with work. I am exhausted and feel completely burnt out. Caring has negatively impacted on my work and career and affected my family life. My mother has recently moved to a small scale nursing home where she is so happy and so well looked after. There is huge pressure on families to continue to look after people with highly complex care needs and I question that. There are too few small scale nursing homes in Ireland.