As 4 in 10 the grade
Dame Esther: Elderly need TV fundraiser
THE care home industry is in serious trouble and many older people are being badly let down and deprived of the decent care they need and deserve.
In most walks of life, if you have savings you can buy a good service, but not necessarily here it seems. Part of the reason is that care homes struggle to attract and keep great staff.
Some carers leave the NHS because pay is much better elsewhere, lured by just a slightly higher wage. Unfortunately, rapid staff turnover is a sure-fire recipe for poor, inconsistent care.
Care home fees have gone up and can easily amount to a thousand pounds or more a week.
Even well-off people are usually unable to stump up so much cash for very long.
And what of the many who don’t have any money put by and who depend on the State to fund their care?
Far too many older LONELY older people need their own TV fundraiser because the charity sector is turning a blind eye to their needs, Dame Esther Rantzen says.
The veteran campaigner wants a Golden Day telethon to rival Children in Need and Comic Relief extravaganzas.
It comes as her charity The Silver Line, the UK’s only roundthe-clock helpline for isolated older people, toasted its fifth birthday at a glittering dinner last night, attended by Dame Joan Collins, Nicholas Parsons, Gloria Hunniford and the Daily Express in London.
Dame Esther, 78, said: “Children in Need has become a national carnival celebrating children.
“We need the same for older people to secure their place in the nation’s heart. With today’s older generation we too often turn a blind eye. I am asking everyone to get behind a Golden Day.
“This would harness the legendary generosity of the British public and highlight the contributions that older people have made and continue to make.”