Angela Rippon slams 'bureaucracy nightmare '

Television presenter Angela Rippon criticised the 'bureaucratic nightmare' facing carers at a conference in Norfolk today. And she spoke of her own struggle to help her mother, who has dementia.

Television presenter Angela Rippon criticised the 'bureaucratic nightmare' facing carers at a conference in Norfolk today.

She spoke of her own struggle to help her mother, who has dementia, and said carers are trying to do their best without experience or guidance.

Miss Rippon was in Norwich to speak at the I Care conference, organised by Norfolk and Waveney Mental Health trust for people who care for those with mental health problems.

She said: 'You become a carer almost by default. It sets you off on a steep learning curve, often alone and without professional help. You are entering unknown territory.'

She said her mother, now 88 and in a care home, 'inhabits a parallel universe where my grandmother, uncles and aunts visit her regularly'.

She said: 'I learned early on not to tell her they were dead because that distressed her so much. No-one actually told me what to do. I had to work it out for myself. I had to deal with it on my own.'

The event also included a Big Brother-style 'diary room' in which carers or professionals could record their thoughts and experiences on a video camera. The footage will be looked at by the mental health trust and used to improve services for carers.

See Friday's EDP for more on this story.