Let’s give elderly the dignity they deserve

SO, we have a refreshed Government. Big deal. There are some situations in desperate need of change that never alter, no matter which party has grasped power.

Privately run care homes can be very profitable if badly run

They are problems that we know exist, that we’re uncomfortable with – appalled at, even – but still allow to persist. One of the biggest, longrunning scandals in our so-called civilised society is the continuing, covert abuse and misery that our beloved mums, dads, grans, grandads, brothers, sisters, daughters and sons are forced to endure in ‘care’ homes where care is bottom of the agenda. Privately run care homes can be very profitable, particularly if the staff are poorly paid, the food’s bog-standard, the furniture’s not up to inspection nor appropriate for the needs of residents, and the equipment – such as wheelchairs, beds, hoists etc – are old and faulty. This is still the case in plenty of ‘homes’, the sort of places where residents sit on hard, ropey old chairs watching telly, ‘cared’ for by too few staff on minimum wage, with minimal tolerance. I still have frequent nightmares over what might have been happening to my mum while she was in residential care, made worse a couple of years ago when I worked on a disturbing Panorama programme concerning the abuse of a frail lady with dementia. She was shoved, slapped, her head banged against the bed-rail, and left to lie in soiled clothing, while two ‘carers’ swore at her as they complained about their wages.

Abuse in ‘care’ is not confined to the elderly, either. On Wednesday, 13 directors and staff at two care homes for vulnerable adults with learning difficulties were convicted of “organised and systematic abuse”. The residents were forced to clean toilets and were punished for behaviour they could not help, by being locked in cold, damp rooms, without access to food or water.

Thanks to the Tories’ continuing myopic vision when it comes to social care, local authority funding of residential care for older people and those with disabilities has been slashed over the past seven years of their rule, with homes closing at the rate of more than one a day.

Mirror reader Julie Marsh sent me a letter she’d written to Theresa May regarding her mother’s care home, run by a private company, with places mostly part or fully funded by the local council.

Her mum, Brenda, who has Alzheimer’s, had been living there for three years when its closure was shockingly announced and staff put on 30 days’ consultation. Julie’s letter to Mrs May cites “funding issues” as the reason for closing the home.

No-one representing the council was present, “due to staff issues”.

Julie asked Mrs May: “What happens in years to come? People are living longer. Will there be nursing homes available?”.

She adds: “As a country, we do not look after our elderly. They deserve some dignity and gratitude, not to be put up against a balance sheet.”

I think Brenda just spoke for everyone. Deal with it, once and for all, Prime Minister…