Matilda in pieces: what one mother’s suicide reveals about the carers broken by the system

<p>Parent-carers of disabled children are exposed to chronic levels of extreme stress and often reach crisis point before help is available – then they face a ‘fight for basic support’, experts say. This is Matilda Davis’s story</p><p>Two days before she died, Matilda Davis issued a plea on Facebook. Sharing a study that found more than 40% of parent-carers had considered suicide, she called for “greater awareness, action and change” in Britain’s broken social care system. “This speaks the words I can’t,” she wrote.</p><p>Matilda, known as Tilly to her family and friends, had spent years battling for support in a regime that close observers and those who rely on it often say is increasingly confusing, fragmented and difficult to navigate.</p> <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/society/ng-interactive/2026/aug/11/matilda-davis-mother-suicide-carer-broken-social-care-system-england">Continue reading...</a>