I have always argued that the ‘next generation’ of people requiring care will be more demanding than the generation who believed ‘the doctor knows best’ and we have indeed reached that point as the hippies of the 60s now become the service users of the 2010s!

As well as an different attitude to authority, this generation also comes for some with the interesting personal habit of taking recreational drugs as to them a normal and everyday part of their lives, which they expect to be able to continue for the rest of their lives.

For care home providers and care agencies, these new demands are going to be very challenging to the current era of ‘carer knows best’. While they could refuse to deal with these challenging service users, they may find their financial survival will demand on the ability of changing to accommodate a less co-operative type of user.

It is going to be an interesting time as the care sector finds itself forced, maybe kicking and screaming, into an area where the customer is always right, far out man!