Life After Public Service

About Life After Public Service

Honest conversations for the people who give everything.Millions of people across the UK are caring for someone they love: a parent, a partner, a child, a sibling - without ever calling themselves a carer. They're sons, daughters, husbands, wives, friends. And quietly, without noticing, many of them are running on empty.Care Without Burnout is the podcast that speaks directly to them.Hosted by Donna Bentley-Carr, founder of Care Without Burnout CIC, registered nurse, and someone who knows what it means to care for a loved one whilst holding everything else together. This show brings together expert voices and honest solo conversations to help unpaid carers protect their own wellbeing before crisis hits.Each episode explores what it really takes to keep going: the emotional weight of caregiving, the identity shifts that come with it, and the practical strategies that build genuine resilience - not the kind that asks you to do more, but the kind that helps you stay whole.

Publisher

Donna Bentley-Carr

Category

business · education · health & fitness

Language

en

Explicit

No

First episode

23 Jan 2025

Latest episode

17 Aug 2026

Latest episodes

63 episodes in the feed.

1. 

   17 Aug 2026

   Behind Closed Doors: The Hidden Trauma, Medical Burnout, and Survival of Unpaid Carers

   Donna talks with lived-experience expert Sarah Challiss to explore the unspoken realities of long-term caregiving, from the acute emotional trauma of suicide risks and end-of-life crises to the profound physical toll on the caregiver's own body. Together, they confront the critical gaps in hospital discharge support, the overwhelming anxiety of managing complex medical care at home without training, and the systemic isolation that leaves carers fighting burnout in silence, highlighting practical strategies for breaking the cycle, including why carers must prioritise their own health screenings, how to build local and digital support networks, and why speaking up with absolute candour is vital to saving both the carer and the cared-for. KEY TAKEAWAYS Carers face severe, long-term health risks from chronic stress and physical strain, making routine personal health screenings and scheduled respite essential rather than optional. Inadequate hospital discharge planning leaves unpaid carers overwhelmed by complex medical tasks, highlighting the critical need for transitional helplines and proactive logging of care failures. When caregiving becomes unsustainable, carers must shed "carer's guilt" and use clear, written statements or digital AI tools to demand formal intervention from social services and support charities. BEST MOMENTS "Number one, fill your cup up first and take care of you, but we do need to be a lot more vocal." "Ticking a box on a form doesn't mean that that person's prepared to be able to be a carer." "Do not suffer in silence. Bang a drum and do whatever it takes." ABOUT THE HOST Donna brings both professional depth and personal lived experience to every conversation. She holds a Diploma in Coaching and Positive Psychology and is a qualified Alcohol-Free Performance Coach. She had 28 years in NHS nursing and clinical leadership - including Matron roles in a busy teaching hospital - yet found being a carer for a loved one incredibly challenging. That was when she founded Care Without Burnout, a not for profit Community Interest Company, to bridge a gap the NHS simply doesn't have the capacity to fill: preventative, relational support for the people doing the caring. Whether you're in the thick of it right now, supporting someone who is, or working alongside carers professionally this podcast is for you. New episodes every Monday. Subscribe wherever you listen. ⁠⁠⁠https://www.facebook.com/share/18sSX8fkRw/⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠https://www.instagram.com/carewithoutburnout?igsh=MTdvdmV6enY4ZTkxNw==⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠https://www.tiktok.com/@cwb.cic?_r=1&_t=ZN-97SQfpF2r26⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠hello@carewithoutburnout.org⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠https://carewithoutburnout.org⁠⁠⁠

2. 

   10 Aug 2026

   Love, Loss, and Legacy: Transforming Caregiver Grief into Purpose

   In this poignant episode, Donna continues her conversation with advocate Mike Parrish about his journey caring for his late husband, Tom, who lived with Progressive Supranuclear Palsy and Corticobasal Degeneration. Mike candidly discusses the emotional and practical hurdles of navigating rare dementia diagnoses, systemic shortcomings within the healthcare system, and the heavy toll of unpaid caregiving. KEY TAKEAWAYS Rare Dementias Lack Standard Roadmaps: Conditions like PSP and CBD affect far fewer people than Alzheimer's, resulting in less research and guidance. Carers are often left to react to symptoms as they happen rather than knowing what to expect next. Historical Trauma Influences Current Care Needs: Older LGBTQ+ adults lived through eras when homosexuality was illegal and severely stigmatized. This history creates deep-seated anxieties about entering care environments or welcoming unfamiliar carers into their homes. Memory Regression Can Relive Past Anxieties: As dementia causes memories to regress to earlier decades, individuals may lose awareness of modern social acceptance and fear being outed, affecting their willingness to show affection, accept care, or feel safe in their surroundings. Systemic Gaps Fall on Unpaid Carers: Finding inclusive, specialized care and respite often requires extensive self-directed research by the carer, highlighting a critical lack of proactive support from local authorities and healthcare providers. Carers Face a Dual Loss: When a loved one passes away, carers experience a double layer of grief—grieving the person they lost and grieving the full-time role that defined their daily life. Channeling that energy into advocacy can create a meaningful legacy. BEST MOMENTS "What you do as a result of being victimized... you carry that with you, and I think that's probably true for a lot of minorities." "I can't have somebody in my house who doesn't like the idea that we are married... That's not looking after somebody, that's quite frightening." "Not only have you lost the person that you're caring for... you then grieve the role that you were fulfilling, because if you were 24/7 on call, all of a sudden you've got this big hole." "The system is not working to support the people who are supporting the people that they are supposed to care for." "The love doesn't stop when somebody dies, it continues. So a way of loving him is creating an ongoing legacy..." ABOUT THE HOST Donna brings both professional depth and personal lived experience to every conversation. She holds a Diploma in Coaching and Positive Psychology and is a qualified Alcohol-Free Performance Coach. She had 28 years in NHS nursing and clinical leadership - including Matron roles in a busy teaching hospital - yet found being a carer for a loved one incredibly challenging. That was when she founded Care Without Burnout, a not for profit Community Interest Company, to bridge a gap the NHS simply doesn't have the capacity to fill: preventative, relational support for the people doing the caring. Whether you're in the thick of it right now, supporting someone who is, or working alongside carers professionally this podcast is for you. New episodes every Monday. Subscribe wherever you listen. rebecca@rebeccacookcoach.com @rebeccacookcoach on Instagram ⁠⁠⁠https://www.facebook.com/share/18sSX8fkRw/⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠https://www.instagram.com/carewithoutburnout?igsh=MTdvdmV6enY4ZTkxNw==⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠https://www.tiktok.com/@cwb.cic?_r=1&_t=ZN-97SQfpF2r26⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠hello@carewithoutburnout.org⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠https://carewithoutburnout.org⁠⁠⁠

3. 

   27 Jul 2026

   Navigating the Unknown: Love, Loss, and Dementia Without a Diagnosis

   Donna speaks with Mike Parish about his 47-year journey with his late husband, Tom, and the heartbreaking complexities of caring for a partner through young-onset dementia. Mike opens up about the subtle early signs, the silent struggles of being an unpaid carer, and the frustrating years spent navigating the medical system without a formal diagnosis. The conversation illuminates the unique vulnerabilities faced by LGBTQ+ individuals in caregiving, the heavy financial and emotional burdens placed on family carers, and how music provided a powerful bridge to Tom’s memories even when speech was lost. KEY TAKEAWAYS The Diagnostic Void: Many families navigate years of debilitating dementia symptoms and life changes without a formal diagnosis, leaving them isolated and without structural support. Unseen Carer Burdens: Unpaid family carers face immense financial and emotional strains due to systemic gaps that fail to recognise or support them as essential partners in care. Unique LGBTQ+ Vulnerabilities: Older LGBTQ+ individuals often rely on chosen families and face additional barriers to finding culturally safe, inclusive caregiving environments. BEST MOMENTS "And to actually find that you’re not only in love with somebody, but you’re having fun all of the time—it was just, it was almost like a dream." "You don't know what you don't know... You're constantly on guard, you're constantly on high alert all the time." "It's almost like you're the most important person in the whole of that person's life, and yet you're on the outside." ABOUT THE HOST Donna brings both professional depth and personal lived experience to every conversation. She holds a Diploma in Coaching and Positive Psychology and is a qualified Alcohol-Free Performance Coach. She had 28 years in NHS nursing and clinical leadership - including Matron roles in a busy teaching hospital - yet found being a carer for a loved one incredibly challenging. That was when she founded Care Without Burnout, a not for profit Community Interest Company, to bridge a gap the NHS simply doesn't have the capacity to fill: preventative, relational support for the people doing the caring. Whether you're in the thick of it right now, supporting someone who is, or working alongside carers professionally this podcast is for you. New episodes every Monday. Subscribe wherever you listen. rebecca@rebeccacookcoach.com @rebeccacookcoach on Instagram ⁠⁠⁠https://www.facebook.com/share/18sSX8fkRw/⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠https://www.instagram.com/carewithoutburnout?igsh=MTdvdmV6enY4ZTkxNw==⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠https://www.tiktok.com/@cwb.cic?_r=1&_t=ZN-97SQfpF2r26⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠hello@carewithoutburnout.org⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠https://carewithoutburnout.org⁠⁠⁠

Who has been a guest on Life After Public Service

Names identified in recent episode analyses. Showing up to five guests.

• Jeff Hill
• Gemma Holden
• Helen Valentino
• Claire Jones
• Hannah Roper

Reach and audience

Public platform figures. Ratings count people who left a rating, not total listeners.

Spotify

5.0 / 5

5 ratings

Podcast Authority Score: 34 / 100

A composite of feed quality, social presence, YouTube performance and engagement. Read the methodology.

Quality

68

Social presence

0

YouTube

0

Engagement

0

Contact Life After Public Service

Guest appearances

Books guests

Based on episode analysis; this does not confirm that the show is currently accepting guests.

Questions about Life After Public Service