Tuesday 6 December 2011

Elderly and Carers Forgotten Again

There has been much in the news again recently regarding cut backs for operations such as.
Cataracts, repair hernias, install grommets, replace worn-out hips and knees, remove infected tonsils, varicose veins, bunions or gallstones. Surgery to relieve snoring, and certain dental procedures, for example removal of wisdom teeth, are also affected.

Spare a thought for the many elderly people who suffer from the above paticularly those who are being cared for at home by their also elderly spouse or family member both of whom can be suffering from one or more of these conditions, many are in their seventies And eighties or older. If an elderly carer has cataracts do they have to wait till they are almost blind before anything is done, or have the affliction of bunions that are painful and crippling, since when was pain considered cosmetic, how are these carers supposed to be able to care for their loved one who probably has the same affliction and worse, when they are themselves almost blind and crippled by the time they get surgery. This should not be allowed to happen to an animal.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/society/2011/apr/11/nhs-cuts-first-areas

Also in the news there has been much reported that thousands of elderly people are being abused and neglected in their own homes by the very staff meant to care for them, this is diabolical!, any elderly person living alone or, member of a family who is caring at home for a loved one in their own homes would be fearful of this and avoid asking for help. There are also many good caring staff who do their utmost under difficult conditions and it must not be forgotten that they have in many cases only about ten minutes to spend per patient, and their salary most inadequate for the work they do. There is no excuse for abuse but it would be wrong to judge all outside employed carers the same, but this abuse must stop and Government and councils must get their act together now and put a stop to it now.

http://dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2064957/Elderly-people-abused-carers-Neglect-bad-pensioners-wanted-die.html

Human rights for carers

http://www.ukhcd.co.uk/index.aspx
Now it has been suggested that older people who have worked hard paid their taxes, saved and bought their own homes, and spent their lives bringing up their families should once their children have left home be forced to sell their home which they have built with love and hard work and move into smaller accommodation with no thought of enough room for visiting children and grandchildren. The suggestion is to have the owners pay more tax which in many cases will give them no aternative. Thousands of grandparents are doing their best to help their children by taking care of grandchildren so that their children can go out to work and make a living. This while thousands of houses in the UK are lying empty for fifteen or twenty years. There is enough in the news about where costs can be cut, when are the government going to seriously consider them and stop attacking the most vulnerable and hard working.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2011/oct/23/housing-shortage-old-people-homes

930,000 houses left empty

http://www.guardian.co.uk/money/2011/dec/3/empty-homes-falling-apart

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