The carer who was a fake

Sky News Daily

Thursday, 21 November 2024 - 22 minutes

What happens when the care you trust isn’t care at all? When Sarah Whitaker hired a live-in carer for her 89-year-old father, she thought she was securing a lifeline. What she got was a stranger who could not cook, drive, and care – because she wasn’t the carer Sarah had booked. This bizarre and troubling story takes us deep into the cracks of Britain’s care industry, where an unregulated system leaves families vulnerable to shocking deceptions. Sky’s Nick Martin investigates how one family was duped out of £2,000, how they found out, and what it says about the future of "home-first" care in the UK. He joins host Niall Paterson alongside Tim Wilson, board member of the Home Care Association and managing director of Assist Care Group, a regulated home care agency, to discuss what the industry needs to do to improve. Producer: Soila ApparicioAdditional research: Fiona Mackie Editor: Philly Beaumont