Introduction: A System That Needs to Catch Up
Across the UK, millions of adult children are quietly supporting their ageing parents. They are helping with bills, sorting medication, managing appointments, dealing with transport, and just being present when it matters. These people are carents.
Carents are a growing group, often in midlife, often stretched thin. They are keeping older loved ones safe and independent. But they are doing so inside a care system that was not built for this modern reality.
Support is hard to find. Services are uncoordinated. And families are left to piece everything together, often while juggling full-time work, financial pressure and emotional strain.
That is why we believe the UK needs a Frailty Commissioner.
Not as an extra layer of bureaucracy, but as a national voice that connects the dots and drives real, practical change.
What Is a Frailty Commissioner?
A Frailty Commissioner would be a senior, independent role within government, designed to lead policy and public service reform around frailty and ageing.
Frailty is not the same as ageing. It is a medical condition that affects people who are more vulnerable to health setbacks. But even for families where frailty is not a factor, the journey of supporting older loved ones is complex and demanding. That is where a national leader can make the biggest difference.
A Frailty Commissioner would:
- Improve how frailty is recognised, treated and supported in health and social care
- Highlight the unmet needs of unpaid carers, especially adult children
- Coordinate across sectors like housing, banking, transport and technology
- Promote more inclusive and accessible services
- Publish reports on gaps in care and practical ways to fix them
- Be a public advocate for families facing these pressures every day
Why This Matters For Carents
Carents often do not see themselves as carers. They think they are just being good sons or daughters. But many are doing hours of unpaid support each week.
Some help their parents remain in their homes. Others are organising care at a distance. Some are sharing responsibilities with siblings or managing it all alone.
Their work is invisible. Their voices are rarely heard in policy. And yet without them, the care system in the UK would simply not function.
Here are just a few of the ways carents are supporting ageing parents:
- Booking and attending medical appointments
- Managing prescriptions, hospital admin and care records
- Coordinating home care or specialist support
- Covering costs for food, transport or equipment
- Dealing with utility companies, financial planning and legal issues
- Providing companionship, emotional support and crisis response
Whether their parent is living with frailty, dementia, or simply needs a bit more help day to day, carents are doing the work of care. But they are doing it without formal recognition, structured help or a point of leadership in government.
Frailty Is Not Inevitable. But Planning Should Be.
Not every older person will become frail. In fact, many enjoy good health and independence well into later life. But when frailty does develop, it often happens alongside other conditions such as dementia or mobility issues. Frailty is often the reason why older adults need extra help and support and creates the added pressures on families.
What makes things worse is that support often arrives too late, after a crisis has already happened.
A Frailty Commissioner could help change this by:
- Promoting early identification of frailty in older adults
- Making care more coordinated and less reactive
- Supporting innovation in housing and community design
- Working with GPs, councils and charities to join up the dots
But more importantly, a Frailty Commissioner would help families feel seen and supported. That includes people who are not dealing with frailty now, but are navigating the daily grind of caring for older parents in a system that is fragmented and slow.
What Carents Are Telling Us
How a Frailty Commissioner Would Help
A Frailty Commissioner would focus on both people living with frailty and those who care for them. The role would also look beyond the NHS and Social Care to make life easier in the areas that really matter:
1. Policy Reform and Leadership
A national strategy that centres ageing and frailty across all departments, not just health and social care.
2. Data and Visibility
Improved tracking of unpaid care work by adult children to inform service planning and investment.
3. Support for Carents
From flexible working rights to practical navigation tools, the Commissioner would advocate for long-overdue changes.
4. Cross-Sector Coordination
Work with banks, telecoms, energy suppliers and councils to create better systems for families managing care.
5. Accountability and Reporting
Public reports that name and address where services are failing families - from hospital discharge chaos to inaccessible benefits.
Why This Is the Right Time
The number of people aged 85 and over is expected to double by 2041. At the same time, people are living further from family, working longer and struggling to balance care with other responsibilities.
Without a national strategy, the pressure will fall - as it already does - on family and friends, especially carents.
A Frailty Commissioner is a practical, affordable and achievable first step towards that strategy.. It is a role that could unite services, raise awareness, and deliver smarter, earlier and more compassionate support.
Did you find this information helpful? Let us know what you think or pass on some advice to other carents by emailing us at hello@thecarentsroom.com
Last updated: 09/06/2025