For almost 50 years Audrey Roffey cared for her son, Andrew, who was born with learning difficulties. Now, the roles have been reversed as Audrey, 81, has lost nearly all her sight and is crippled with arthritis in her hands and knees.
Whereas in the past Audrey would cook for her son and carry out the household chores, today it is 50-year-old Andrew who makes cups of the tea, cooks hot meals and even helps his mum in and out of the bath.
The remarkable turnaround has been made possible thanks to a trailblazing project aimed at supporting the needs of ageing parents and their disabled children, enabling them to continue to live independently in their own home.
The Mutual Carers project was set up nine years ago and is run by Bromley Mencap. It offers cookery classes, respite breaks, emergency planning, benefits assessments and help at medical appointments to elderly carers who have sons and daughters with a learning disability and who have themselves become disabled.
Support workers for the project, in partnership with the primary care trust, local council and a variety of other organisations, have helped 25 families in the borough to stay together and avoid institutional care.
For Andrew, who was forced to give up a job in a pizza restaurant to care for his mum, the project has given him a new sense of confidence. As he has taken on caring responsibilities, support workers have helped him to claim a carer's allowance of £53.90 a week.
"I never expected this project to change my life, but it has. I do all the hot food as it's dangerous for mum, and I got advice on travel so I can now help mum when we go out," he says.
Its impact has been felt not just in Bromley. Across the UK, it is estimated there are tens of thousands of parents like Audrey who have cared for a son or daughter with a learning disability all their lives and now need care and support themselves.
Indeed, the Department of Health has recognised the value of support for mutual carers by holding up the Bromley project as a blueprint for other organisations. It has already been replicated in Sheffield and Warrington.
Eddie Lynch, chief executive of Bromley Mencap, says the project was set up to avoid family breakdown. Research shows families with a disabled member are already at high risk of poverty as well as poor health through the relentless responsibility of being a carer. This risk increases when parents are unable to support themselves or a family member.
Support workers help people with learning disabilities to get carer's assessments, address basic health and dietary needs and give advice on financial issues where there are money concerns. Family members with learning disabilities are given the opportunity to meet up with other carers and share experiences over a meal. Meanwhile, respite breaks are offered to elderly parents in the form of lunch clubs.
According to Lynch, the innovative Bromley project meets those crucial needs that are often invisible and, if unmet, can trigger family breakdown. These can include issues such as writing a will, accessing bereavement services and what to do in an emergency.
Without the support of the project it is likely that families would have ended up in residential care as they failed to meet the eligibility criteria for accessing social services, he says.
Crucially, the service has provided disabled carers with the skills to live independently, enjoy increased financial security, have improved physical and mental health and experience less isolation.
Carers unable to find part-time jobs have been helped to do voluntary work in charity shops, and take part in outside activities such as walking groups, according to Gill Eldridge, family services manager for Bromley Mencap.
Service delivery: Carers, families and communities
WINNER: Bromley Mencap for its Mutual Carers project, which offers a range of services and support to elderly carers who have sons or daughters with learning disabilities and who have become disabled themselves. So far, the project has prevented 25 families from being broken up and moved into institutional care.
RUNNERS-UP:
Hertfordshire county council for its Breakaway for Carers scheme, in which carers can access an online database of volunteers ready to give them a helping hand.
Manchester city council for its inter-generational project, which led to the creation of a Brownie and Guide badge about respect for older people.
