Half of families in the UK 'dreading' looking after older relatives

A survey has found that half of families don't want to look after their older relatives, despite the vast majority feeling that it is their duty to do so.

The research was carried out by Friends of the Elderly and discovered that one in ten people felt that it was the responsibility of a family to look after their relatives as they enter old age, but many had excuses as to why they did not want to.

Almost a quarter of people said that they had relatives who were likely to spend Christmas alone and this comes despite research released last week (December 11th) that showed that loneliness can contribute to dementia.

Richard Furze, chief executive of Friends of the Elderly, said: "We can all make a special effort at Christmas and it will make such a difference, not just with our relatives but with older people in our communities."

He encouraged people to check on older neighbours and speak to older people in their community as this can make "a real difference".