Vicky, no insult intended. I certainly don't believe that carers aren't smart enough. But if you've never cared before, where do you get the info to start with? That was a massive task for me, and I had some ideas about the system because of my previous work. I referred to the fact that Excalibur's view ignores those who don't know what's available, and believe me that is the majority of carers. If there's any criticism there, it's of a system that not only doesn't work, it ignores vast numbers of people on the assumption that they should know everything already. I've been a carer for more years than I care to remember, I've worked in the system and around it for years - and it's a flat impossibility to know everything about it. It's too big, too complex, and because of that it's virtually inaccessible.
For some carers, what is available can't meet the need - and in some cases it isn't even available. I've already said that.
The problem is that it's virtually impossible to get an accurate picture - who is or isn't "smart" is irrelevant. What is relevant is that we're all carers, we all have different needs, different opinions. But we need to recognise that what is right for us as individuals won't work for others - and there's too little of that going on in this thread.
