IT is the ever-present worry which nags away at elderly people and their close relatives.
As the advancing years render them more in need of daily help and supervision, the question arises of whom the family might trust to do this.
The thought of a stranger having the run of the house will always be unsettling for those who may only have ever previously shared their home with spouse and children.
So when a case such as that ofthieving Lisa Millard comes to light, it inevitably reinforces all the worries which the vulnerable and their relatives are harbouring.
Millard was stealing from the Derby couple for whom she was a carer.
The daughters of her victims harboured suspicions that this was going on and so set up a miniature spy camera in a bedroom drawer.
It did the trick, producing footage of Millard taking tubes of £2 coins from the drawer and replacing them with tubes filled with 2p coins – hardly a spur-of-the-moment offence.
She has now been jailed for 18 weeks – whether that reflects what the magistrates described as her "gross breach of trust" will be a subject for debate.
But what damage she will have inflicted in her wake.
Her reputation is ruined – but that of the agency which employed her will also have suffered significantly.
There are thousands of honest, diligent carers out there who also do not deserve to have their profession tarnished by Millard's shameful action.
But the most harm is done to the victims, who may never feel able again to benefit from sorely-needed home help, and will struggle on alone unaided.
And others, too, will read about this case and may also need persuading anew about the merits of essential extra care for the vulnerable. There are no winners in these cases.
