A growing sense of exasperation with a care system which appeared to have lost all sense of purpose,
through its unwillingness to govern itself in line with public expectations, has compelled a group of
relatives to take an extraordinary course of action in pursuit of justice.
Concerns had initially emerged due to a lack of accountability, by those whose sole purpose it is to
regulate standards within care homes. This failing resulted in individuals whom they have a known duty
BBC Documentary
Our willingness not to remain silent resulted in a documentary by the BBC, which revealed shocking
levels of common practices. Hence it is our aim & goal to provide support to individuals through a
process of engagement, based on our lived experiences and what we wish we had known at the start of our
journeys.
Prior to the program airing some of the families involved had articles featured in the media, including
the press and Journal, a local newspaper.
Their willingness to print the truth of our loved ones situation, in a way which highlighted that these were
individuals who had worth and the right to be treasured and cared for, made us feel heard and supported.
As a direct result of their conscientious approach to a group of traumatized relatives sharing deeply
personal information some of us have been encouraged to reach out, with the intent of facilitating change
from the ground up.
Our shared focus and desire is to make a formative difference to the lives of all those entering residential
care, be it the residents themselves, their families and friends or individuals working within homes.
We had made some significant observations regarding the issues which seemed to be of major concern for many
families, and these combined with our own experiences drove the discussion amongst us as to our next steps.
Our name, Cascade4Change, was specifically chosen to reflect the aims of our group, by acknowledging the
importance of collating and sharing relevant information to facilitate change.