Meeting the complex health and social care needs of older adults: a response to the recent viewpoint paper on "how to handle gerontocracy"

Purpose - This paper aims to provide a response to the previously published paper on "Gerontocracy".Design/methodology/approach - This paper views care services through the lens of safeguarding, risks and responsibility in contradistinction from the largely economic and cost relevant argument put forward in the original paper.Findings - This paper articulates the contribution of informal carers to integrated care solutions solely from an economic perspective overlooks the wider human and social dimensions of care provision in society.Originality/value - Engaging in the wider debate about the status, contribution of informal carers to care solutions highlights the complexity of the carers' role in society which should evoke a more holistic debate of this important topic.