I was talking with the admiral nurse yesterday about legal responsibility when caring for a loved one who has dementia. I said that my understanding is that it is the social services/local authority who have the legal responsibility to safeguard the dementia sufferer, not a family member even though they have taken on the role of carer. The nurse said that was not right, and if a family member has taken on the role of carer it then becomes their legal responsibility to ensure the sufferer is properly safeguarded. If the carer says they can no longer continue in their caring role and effectively walks away they can then be charged with abuse! Is the nurse right? Have I misunderstood all this time?