Bishop: we need more society

THE BISHOP of Oxford has called for a r eturn to a less individualistic society in an attempt to end the abuse of old people.

Bishop John Pritchard said the UK had lost a “consciousness of a common humanity” what was known in Africa as “ubuntu”.

In a House of Lor ds debate on abuse of the elderly he called for the cr eation of a “British ubuntu” with schools playing a crucial part.

He said: “The stories of the abuse of older people hardly need rehearsing - the media are full of them - and the scandal of a particular care home recently has shocked the nation.

“Some of us will have had opportunity - even in our own families, doubtless - to experience some of this problem.

“The Health Secr etar y has conceded that something is badly wrong with the care system.”

He told peers: “As we have scatter ed to our own personal enclaves, as it were, we have left the elderly behind as unpr oductive, unrewarding problems.

“The 2007 study by the National Centr e for Social Research stated that neglect was the pr edominant type of mistreatment of older people in society rather than physical violence. The risk factors are being aged over 85, being female, being in bad health and already being in receipt of some form of support ser vices.

“A former Commissioner for Older People in Wales has estimated that one person in four reports el der abuse in one for m or another , ranging fr om impatient behaviour to physical mistreatment. We have lost the quality of ubuntu.”

He said schools were where a cultur e change should begin.

“All the primar y schools I visit have ubuntu in spades,” he said. “Their value statements invariably speak of community, belonging, caring for one another, tolerance and respect, and all that works really well at that level.

“When the pr essure is on at the secondar y level, we must insist that values education is still more important than nar rowly conceived academic achievement; character tr umps even five A to Cs.

“Care for the other, respect for the elderly and the common good are the values that contribute to ubuntu, and they can be experienced, taught and internalised in our schools.”

Bishop Pritchard also said a “compassionate society” could be recreated by aligning different strands of society.

“I must put in a word for the way the churches cover the entire countr y with a network of car e so ubiquitous that it is often missed by commentators and decision-makers,” he said.

“The church is the largest voluntar y organisation in the countr y by far. In my own diocese we have 815 chur ches - an outlet on ever y high street, as it wer e - with over 600 cler gy and 50,000 members who ar e all motivated to car e for their neighbour.

“The result is a network of care in the form of visiting, lunch clubs, good neighbour networks, dementia groups and drop-ins, as well as countless opportunities for older people to use their skills, experience and wisdom.

“We have to br eak down the boundaries between formal and informal care so that a spectrum of modes and levels of care is provided, not just relying on a culture of, ‘Let’s leave it to the professionals’.”