A family at home

Welcome to the September issue of NRC. You'll find that at the heart of this month's issue is the theme of independence. We introduce the topic in our NVQ section (p418) where Pauline Newson explains how through the various stages of our lives, our bodies, capabilities and senses change. Be this at toddler age, our teens, young adulthood or senior years. The topic is later picked up in the Clinical section on stoma care, joint care, and further developed in the final of our series on perception (p448), where Julie Swann leads us through the environment of a care home. Julie explains how, for the older person with perception difficulties, what once seemed simple can now be frustrating. Leading gerontologist, Dr Glenda Cook, explores the subject further in Independent Days, in the care analysis section (p451).