Reads
Free, plain-English reads on care, health, and wellbeing — general information to help you understand a topic. Read at your own pace; there's nothing to enrol in or pass.
Returning Home After Hospital: a family's guide to a safe recovery
Bringing someone home from hospital can feel like relief and worry at once. This is a calm, practical guide to the discharge process, the free NHS support you may not know about, getting the home ready, and helping someone recover safely.
Care Funding and Assessments: how paying for care actually works
A plain guide to the needs assessment, the financial assessment, direct payments and what the council does and does not pay for in England.
Power of Attorney: the basics, and why waiting is the mistake
What a lasting power of attorney is, the two types, how to set one up, and what happens if someone loses capacity without one.
Understanding Diabetes: a carer's plain guide
A clear, friendly guide to diabetes for carers and families — what it is, the signs to watch for, what a "hypo" and a "hyper" are, and how to help safely without ever stepping outside your role.
Understanding Heart Disease: a carer's plain guide
A clear, friendly guide to heart disease for carers and families — what it is, the difference between angina and a heart attack, the warning signs that mean call 999, and how to support someone safely day to day.
Understanding High Blood Pressure: a carer's plain guide
High blood pressure is common, serious, and usually silent. A clear guide for carers and families to what it is, why it matters, and the simple, everyday ways you can help.
Understanding Stroke: a carer's plain guide
A clear, friendly guide to stroke for carers and families — the FAST signs that mean call 999 now, why even one sign matters, and how to support someone's recovery afterwards.
Understanding COPD: a carer's plain guide
A clear, friendly guide to COPD for carers and families — what it is, how to spot a flare-up, simple things that genuinely help with breathlessness, and where the carer's role begins and ends.
Understanding Asthma: a carer's quick, plain guide
A short, clear guide to asthma for carers and families — what it is, the signs of an asthma attack, and the one thing you most need to know to help in an emergency.
Supporting Someone With Dementia: a carer's plain guide to day-to-day life
A warm, practical guide to supporting someone with dementia day to day — how to communicate, understand behaviour, help them stay independent, and where to get support for both of you.
Understanding Parkinson's: a carer's plain guide
A clear, friendly guide to Parkinson's for carers and families — what it is, the movement and mood symptoms, why on-time medication matters so much, and how to support someone well.
Understanding Arthritis: a carer's plain guide
A clear, friendly guide to arthritis for carers and families — what it is, the difference between the common types, and the everyday support that helps someone stay active, comfortable, and independent.
Understanding Osteoporosis: a carer's plain guide to protecting fragile bones
Osteoporosis makes bones fragile and easy to break — but a carer can do a lot to help. A plain guide to the condition, and the practical ways you can protect someone's bones and prevent falls.
Understanding Chronic Kidney Disease: a carer's plain guide
A diagnosis of chronic kidney disease sounds alarming, but for most people it's manageable. A calm, clear guide for carers and families to what it means and how to help.
Understanding Epilepsy: a carer's plain guide to seizures
A clear, calm guide to epilepsy for carers and families — what a seizure looks like, what to do and what never to do, and exactly when a seizure becomes a 999 emergency.
Supporting Someone Through Cancer Treatment: a carer's plain guide
Supporting someone through cancer treatment is part practical, part emotional, and part knowing when something needs urgent help. A clear, caring guide to being there well — and safely.
What a Nurse Does: a friendly look at one of the most trusted jobs there is
Nurses are some of the most trusted people in the country — but what do they actually do all day? A friendly, plain guide to the job, the different kinds of nurse, and how someone becomes one.
How the Body Works: a plain tour for anyone caring for someone
A simple guide to the main systems of the body, what each one does, and why carers are often the first to notice when something changes.
What a Paramedic Does: the job behind the ambulance
What paramedics actually do, how someone becomes one in the UK, and what it is like to work in an unpredictable job.
So You Want to Be a Doctor: what the path actually looks like
The route to becoming a doctor in the UK, how long it takes, what the job is really like, and the honest parts people rarely mention.