Caroline Abrahams

Who Caroline Abrahams is

Caroline Abrahams CBE is Charity Director at Age UK, Britain's leading charity focused on improving experiences of later life, where she oversees all influencing, policy, campaigns, media and brand activity and serves as the charity's lead spokesperson. A social scientist and barrister, she has spent her career in the voluntary and public sectors, having previously held senior roles at Action For Children and the Local Government Association, and served as a policy adviser to Ministers and Shadow Ministers and as a senior civil servant. She joined Age UK in 2012 and is co-chair of the Care and Support Alliance, a coalition of over 70 charities campaigning for decent adult social care. She is a member of the NHS Assembly and was formerly a Senior Responsible Officer for the Ageing Well strand of the NHS Long Term Plan. She was awarded a CBE in the 2021 Queen's Birthday Honours List for services to the voluntary sector and older people during Covid-19.

References for this biography

1. 1.Directors | Age UK — Confirms role as Charity Director, joined 2012, background as social scientist and barrister, prior roles at Action For Children and LGA, policy interests
2. 2.Age UK spokespeople | Media Centre | Age UK — Confirms she oversees Age UK's influencing work and is the charity's lead spokesperson; confirms press contact details
3. 3.Queen's Birthday Honours List 2021 (HM Government) — Confirms CBE awarded to Caroline Susan Abrahams, Charity Director Age UK, for services to the Voluntary Sector and Older People during Covid-19
4. 4.NHS England » Caroline Abrahams — Confirms NHS Assembly membership, former SRO for Ageing Well strand of NHS Long Term Plan, and co-chair of Care and Support Alliance
5. 5.Caroline Abrahams joins Kinship as Chair of Trustees — Confirms CBE 2021, role at Age UK, co-chair of Care and Support Alliance, prior role advising Ed Balls at DCSF, chair of End Child Poverty campaign
6. 6.Commission on adult social care reform announced by government – Community Care — Evidences her role as a quoted press spokesperson on social care reform policy (January 2025)
7. 7.Contact information – AGE UK – Charity Commission — Confirms Age UK registered address: 7th Floor, One America Square, 17 Crosswall, London EC3N 2LB

Notable achievements

• Awarded CBE in the 2021 Queen's Birthday Honours List for services to the Voluntary Sector and Older People during Covid-19 Source ↗
• Appointed co-chair of the Care and Support Alliance (70+ charities campaigning for decent social care for all who need it) Source ↗
• Appointed member of the NHS Assembly and formerly Senior Responsible Officer for the Ageing Well strand of the NHS Long Term Plan Source ↗
• Appointed Chair of Trustees at Kinship (kinship carer charity), announced November 2024 Source ↗
• Quoted in national press on the government's announcement of an independent commission on adult social care reform (January 2025), raising concerns about implementation timelines Source ↗

What Caroline Abrahams has said

• “'Bed blockers' is a disgraceful, victim-blaming term because it implies it's the older person's fault that they are stuck in a hospital bed when medically fit to leave whereas, in reality, delayed discharges are a classic system problem.”

  charity director at Age UK · Hospital discharge / bed-blocking · 30 Sept 2026 · ‘Bed blocker’ is an offensive term, says Age UK ↗

• “But the fact is that if I rent a flat, I have far more legal protection than an older person who is frail and unwell and who lives in a care home. It is surely high time this changed and care home residents were given stronger rights.”

  Age UK · Care home closures & provider failure · 30 Sept 2026 · Care homes evict 6,500 residents as providers struggle ↗

• “It's terrible that delayed discharges are so high and continuing to rise, this is truly a crisis hiding in plain sight. They do enormous harm to older people and cost the NHS and the taxpayer an absolute fortune.”

  charity director at Age UK · Adult social care & reform · 30 Sept 2026 · Shocking scale of A&E waits at NHS hospitals revealed ↗

• “Burnham's commitments on the issue "suggest we are closer to the fundamental social care reform we need to see than we've been for a generation".”

  Age UK · Adult social care & reform · 30 Sept 2026 · Burnham signals he will fight election on tax rises to fund social care reform ↗

• “It's terrible that delayed discharges are so high and continuing to rise, this is truly a crisis hiding in plain sight. They do enormous harm to older people and cost the NHS and the taxpayer an absolute fortune.”

  charity director at Age UK · Hospital discharge / bed-blocking · 29 Sept 2026 · Fears over impact of council cost cutting on A&E waits at Warrington Hospital ↗

• “Although it's true that doing everything we can to stay fit and well as we get older helps a great deal, it's impossible to predict which of us will go on to need a lot of social care and who may need no social care at all. For this reason, it makes a lot of sense for us to come together to share the risk of developing care needs by all contributing into a fund through our lives, so that if we are one of the unlucky ones who needs social care, it is there for us, without us having to worry about how to pay for it when the time comes.”

  director of the charity Age UK · Adult social care & reform · 29 Sept 2026 · Will my life savings be wiped out by care costs? ↗

• “This excellent new report should be a wake-up call for us all about how being physically active can help us to age well – an important message that we at Age UK are also promoting through our Act Now to Age Better campaign.”

  charity Director at Age UK · Adult social care & reform · 8 Sept 2026 · Physical activity as important as medication for keeping older people healthy and happy, MPs say ↗

• “It's utterly soul destroying for doctors and nurses, and extremely frightening for older people who know they may need to go to A&E one day”

  Charity director, Age UK · Hospital discharge / bed-blocking · 8 Sept 2026 · Charity issues warning on spike in older people waiting for days in A&E ↗

• “Policy makers have stopped talking about delayed discharges, but they are high and rising – truly a crisis hiding in plain sight. They do enormous harm to older people and cost the NHS and the taxpayer an absolute fortune.”

  Charity Director at Age UK · Hospital discharge / bed-blocking · 8 Sept 2026 · Delayed hospital discharges cost NHS £2.6bn ↗

• “Once an older person has experienced a fall, the physical pain and injury can have a huge impact on their quality of life, leading to distress, a loss of confidence and a loss of independence.”

  Charity director at Age UK · Adult social care & reform · 8 Sept 2026 · Increased falls risk from housing problems costing over £1bn a year ↗

• “We welcome the unpaid carers action plan as a significant step forward in the long march towards ensuring the many millions of people who care are treated fairly, and that they are offered the support they need.”

  Charity Director, Age UK · Unpaid carers · 8 Sept 2026 · Millions of unpaid carers to get recognition and earlier support ↗

• “The influenza or flu virus that's circulating here now is a much more serious health threat than that, especially if we are older, have underlying health conditions or compromised immunity.”

  Charity director at Age UK · Hospital discharge / bed-blocking · 27 Aug 2026 · ‘Beyond belief’ that resident doctors could strike amid flu crisis, says Starmer ↗

• “The plummeting temperatures, ice and snow we are now seeing are hazardous for older people, especially if they are living with serious health conditions or are generally frail. We urge anyone in this situation to take extra care of themselves and the general public to look out for any older person they know who could do with some extra support.”

  charity director at Age UK · Hospital discharge / bed-blocking · 27 Aug 2026 · Flu patient numbers in English hospitals fall for second straight week ↗

• “What's happening to some very ill older people when they come to A&E is a crisis hiding in plain sight which the government must face up to and take immediate action to resolve.”

  charity director of Age UK · Elderly care & frailty · 27 Aug 2026 · Nearly 150,000 aged 90 and above wait 12 hours in England’s A&Es each year ↗

• “This is arguably the first time that someone as senior, respected and independent as Baroness Casey has been prepared to tell the truth about the state of social care in our country.”

  charity director at Age UK · Adult social care & reform · 27 Aug 2026 · Louise Casey: England’s social care system faces ‘moment of reckoning’ ↗

• “While this new measure will help, sadly it will result in only a trickle of new homes suitable for older and disabled people coming onto the market, when really a torrent is required.”

  charity director at Age UK · Elderly care & frailty · 27 Aug 2026 · Disabled people in England ‘betrayed’ by cuts to new-build accessibility targets ↗

• “Anyone who cares intensively is likely to struggle to fit in the time for enough rest, sleep and time away doing things they enjoy. These are essential human needs which, when met, set you up for good mental and physical health.”

  charity director at Age UK · Adult social care & reform · 27 Aug 2026 · Older people risk mental decline if they do long hours of caring, UK study shows ↗

• “Older people who are lonely or bereaved are particularly vulnerable to being targeted, as criminals seek to exploit their isolation and yearning for friendship to part them from their money.”

  Charity Age UK · Elderly care & frailty · 27 Aug 2026 · Friendship fraud: warnings of rise in ‘insidious’ scam targeting older people ↗

• “Older people living with frailty are at much higher risk of deterioration following even minor health shocks. Having a serious fall can be devastating and in some cases is essentially terminal, and either way increases pressure on an already overstretched NHS.”

  Charity director at Age UK · Elderly care & frailty · 27 Aug 2026 · GPs in England too ‘overloaded’ to help older people at risk of falling, say MPs ↗

• “These findings are alarming. This study means there's now no denying that extreme heat poses a very real health threat to our older population.”

  charity director at Age UK · Elderly care & frailty · 27 Aug 2026 · Extreme heat more dangerous for people 60 and over than previously thought ↗

• “She said there is an "inevitable risk" of inaccuracy or misunderstanding with transcription and said any technology being incorporated into care for elderly or vulnerable adults needs to be designed to meet their needs.”

  charity director at Age UK · Adult social care & reform · 27 Aug 2026 · Northamptonshire council use AI to find savings of £47.5m ↗

Recent social activity

• Age UK is neutral on the principle but we are deeply uneasy about the Bill as it currently stands - especially given the context of patchy availability of social and palliative/end of life care.

  x.com ↗

Where Caroline Abrahams has been quoted

1. Prescribing guidance for older people with frailty is aimed to balance harms and benefits of medicinespharmaceutical-journal.com · 30 Sept 2026
2. ‘Bed blocker’ is an offensive term, says Age UKtelegraph.co.uk · 30 Sept 2026
3. Care homes evict 6,500 residents as providers struggletelegraph.co.uk · 30 Sept 2026
4. Shocking scale of A&E waits at NHS hospitals revealedexpress.co.uk · 30 Sept 2026
5. Burnham signals he will fight election on tax rises to fund social care reformft.com · 30 Sept 2026
6. Fears over impact of council cost cutting on A&E waits at Warrington Hospitalwarringtonguardian.co.uk · 29 Sept 2026
7. Will my life savings be wiped out by care costs?bbc.co.uk · 29 Sept 2026
8. Physical activity as important as medication for keeping older people healthy and happy, MPs saycarehomeprofessional.com · 8 Sept 2026
9. Charity issues warning on spike in older people waiting for days in A&Enursingtimes.net · 8 Sept 2026
10. Delayed hospital discharges cost NHS £2.6bnsocialcare.today · 8 Sept 2026
11. Increased falls risk from housing problems costing over £1bn a yearnursingtimes.net · 8 Sept 2026
12. Millions of unpaid carers to get recognition and earlier supportgov.uk · 8 Sept 2026
13. ‘Beyond belief’ that resident doctors could strike amid flu crisis, says Starmertheguardian.com · 27 Aug 2026
14. Flu patient numbers in English hospitals fall for second straight weektheguardian.com · 27 Aug 2026
15. Nearly 150,000 aged 90 and above wait 12 hours in England’s A&Es each yeartheguardian.com · 27 Aug 2026
16. Louise Casey: England’s social care system faces ‘moment of reckoning’theguardian.com · 27 Aug 2026
17. Disabled people in England ‘betrayed’ by cuts to new-build accessibility targetstheguardian.com · 27 Aug 2026
18. Older people risk mental decline if they do long hours of caring, UK study showstheguardian.com · 27 Aug 2026
19. Friendship fraud: warnings of rise in ‘insidious’ scam targeting older peopletheguardian.com · 27 Aug 2026
20. GPs in England too ‘overloaded’ to help older people at risk of falling, say MPstheguardian.com · 27 Aug 2026
21. Extreme heat more dangerous for people 60 and over than previously thoughttheguardian.com · 27 Aug 2026
22. Northamptonshire council use AI to find savings of £47.5mbbc.co.uk · 27 Aug 2026

Related media coverage

Recent UK press coverage of their topics — not necessarily citing them directly.

• Leaders in Care Awards 2026 | Lifetime Achievement: Care Homes winner revealedHome Care Insight
• GP architect of neighbourhood health reforms to leave NHS EnglandPulse Today
• An important step forward in ending corridor care - Colin Poolman | Blog | RCN ScotlandRoyal College of Nursing

Contact & links

• Xhttps://x.com/Car_Abrahamspublished here ↗
• Staff pagehttps://www.ageuk.org.uk/about-us/who-we-are/directors-trustees/directors/
• Press office emailmedia@ageuk.org.ukpublished here ↗
• Press office phone020 3033 1430published here ↗

Organisational contact points only, each taken from a page the organisation publishes itself. No personal or direct contact details are held or shown.