write a letter to editor of newspaper about caring for the elderly
Answers
We are not marching on the streets carrying "Save the old" placards, but we all have stories about elderly relatives or friends who have been subjected to the kind of treatment and attitudes suffered by Hari's grandmother. It's not a sexy subject yet we are all getting older.
Thousands of us, according to statistics, will reach 100 and beyond. So what are we going to do about the scandal of how the old are treated, and how we will be treated sooner or later, if there is no change in the situation?
How about a Wikileaks-type website where whistleblowers can anonymously submit information about what actually takes place in care homes? With ongoing evidence from within these establishments all over the country, it would no longer be possible to deny the importance of action to right the wrongs.
Natalie d'Arbeloff
London NW5
I am a social worker from Switzerland working in the UK in care for elderly people. The living conditions in care homes vary greatly, but the quality of social and intellectual interaction is, almost everywhere, close to zero.
In contrast to the rest of Europe, the professional standard in British care homes is incredibly low. There is no such thing as a professional identity or even a proper profession – anyone without a criminal conviction can become a professional carer from one day to the next.
Social and private care is a serious profession – years are spent studying it in other parts of Europe. Only if training standards are raised here in the UK will the quality of care for the elderly improve.
Thanks to Johann Hari (14 January) and to The Independent for headlining a shocking subject which merits much more front-page attention and constructive outrage than it usually gets. Every so often a burst of indignation pops up in the media but the indignation soon fizzles out.
We are not marching on the streets carrying "Save the old" placards, but we all have stories about elderly relatives or friends who have been subjected to the kind of treatment and attitudes suffered by Hari's grandmother. It's not a sexy subject yet we are all getting older.
Thousands of us, according to statistics, will reach 100 and beyond. So what are we going to do about the scandal of how the old are treated, and how we will be treated sooner or later, if there is no change in the situation?
How about a Wikileaks-type website where whistleblowers can anonymously submit information about what actually takes place in care homes? With ongoing evidence from within these establishments all over the country, it would no longer be possible to deny the importance of action to right the wrongs.
Natalie d'Arbeloff
London NW5
I am a social worker from Switzerland working in the UK in care for elderly people. The living conditions in care homes vary greatly, but the quality of social and intellectual interaction is, almost everywhere, close to zero.
In contrast to the rest of Europe, the professional standard in British care homes is incredibly low. There is no such thing as a professional identity or even a proper profession – anyone without a criminal conviction can become a professional carer from one day to the next.
Social and private care is a serious profession – years are spent studying it in other parts of Europe. Only if training standards are raised here in the UK will the quality of care for the elderly improve.
Hope it helps!!!