observer Posted October 26, 2012 Report Share Posted October 26, 2012 With a rising demographic of dependent elderly folk and needs for mentally disabled care; should we expect the highest possible standards in such homes and are we prepared to pay for it? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dizzy Posted October 26, 2012 Report Share Posted October 26, 2012 Do you mean are 'we' prepared to pay for our own care or are 'we' prepared to pay for other people's care ? 1 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
observer Posted October 26, 2012 Author Report Share Posted October 26, 2012 Both, but I'm thinking about the Panorama disclosure which has seen a dozen "carers" convicted of cruelty in a private care home. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RingoDave Posted October 26, 2012 Report Share Posted October 26, 2012 I can only say that it pays to look at the overall number of care units of various types in this country. As I work in the private sector I see almost continuous assessment of care standards, which we all welcome, as it is good to know if something is going wrong or something is especially right. The media tend to ignore this as it isn't newsworthy, so those of us "doing the job" just get on with attempting to help those in our care to achieve the maximum that they can. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Peter T Posted October 27, 2012 Report Share Posted October 27, 2012 I can only say that it pays to look at the overall number of care units of various types in this country. As I work in the private sector I see almost continuous assessment of care standards, which we all welcome, as it is good to know if something is going wrong or something is especially right. The media tend to ignore this as it isn't newsworthy, so those of us "doing the job" just get on with attempting to help those in our care to achieve the maximum that they can. Is this just a box ticking exercise? How do you catch patient abuse by spending a couple of hours in the place? We expect good care in these establishments, what we don't expect is mental and physical abuse of our loved ones. Of course it is newsworthy in the fact that the problem gets flagged up. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
observer Posted October 27, 2012 Author Report Share Posted October 27, 2012 In this case, Panorama provided sufficient "evidence" for a conviction, by secretly filming these acts at the Home. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Peter T Posted October 27, 2012 Report Share Posted October 27, 2012 In this case, Panorama provided sufficient "evidence" for a conviction, by secretly filming these acts at the Home. I am aware of that, but what about all the other hundreds of care homes? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
observer Posted October 27, 2012 Author Report Share Posted October 27, 2012 No warning inspections; more secret camera serveillance - not exactly rocket science is it? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bazj Posted October 27, 2012 Report Share Posted October 27, 2012 One of the reasons I would never let my mum go into a home and why I did everything I could to ensure she spent her last years in her own home. I fitted CCTV in the house and the carers knew it was there so there was no worries on my part as I could remotely access the system 24 hours a day if I needed to. We also had the carecall system fitted by the council (If anyone has elderly relatives living on their own I would highly recommend that service as it is marvelous)I also went round up to 4 times a day so I always knew what was going on and I was always around when mum needed me to be. I think some kids are just too quick at times to push the problem of elerdly parents/relatives onto someone else - because elderly parents; especially when like my mum, they have had a stroke or were bed bound, are a problem in todays world.... I just put a lot of my stuff on hold for as long as it took.... My mum had four extra years (as I see it) after she had her stroke and fall which she may not have got if we had taken the "easy" option of a nursing home Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
observer Posted October 27, 2012 Author Report Share Posted October 27, 2012 Not sure most elderly folk particularly want to go into a "home" or even hospital for that matter - my Dad certainly doesn't. Fortunately (touch wood), he's still as fit as a butcher's dog at 95, and only now has switched from his bike to an electric wheel chair. Having said that, folk without relatives or good neighbours, or with dementia, can be at risk alone and need 24/7 care - the question is; with a future demographic increase in such cases, can we afford it? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lt Kije Posted October 28, 2012 Report Share Posted October 28, 2012 To answer your question Obs, No we cannot afford it. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
observer Posted October 28, 2012 Author Report Share Posted October 28, 2012 Which opens the euthanasia debate! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cleopatra Posted October 28, 2012 Report Share Posted October 28, 2012 And your name will be at the top of the list, Insha Allah. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lt Kije Posted October 28, 2012 Report Share Posted October 28, 2012 Governments have known about the stretched resources the baby boomers would cause when old age approached, and have failed to plan for it. Governments have had well over 30 years to plan for this, and done nothing. Governments of all colours have failed everyone on this issue. The old are not going to get what they thought they were entitled to, and people in work are going to have to pay for the care. You can not care for the old or the vulnerable on the cheap, if you do you end up with court cases involving abuse!!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bazj Posted October 28, 2012 Report Share Posted October 28, 2012 stop giving OUR money away to foreigners and use it to pay for OUR elderly.... simples 1 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Peter T Posted October 28, 2012 Report Share Posted October 28, 2012 Just think how helping the likes of India and China, looks good on their CV. What I find annoying is that you rarely hear people complaining of this, other than at Oktoberfests. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
observer Posted October 28, 2012 Author Report Share Posted October 28, 2012 Kije: this isn't just a phenomenon related to the baby boomers; it's been on the horizon for some time. With less kids being produced in Western societies (no need to rely on them in old age, when you have a decent pension); and "improved"(?) medical treatment and persistent advice on healthy life styles; folk are living longer. BUT, they are not necessarilly living longer in the best of health, with age related disease on the increase, especially alziemers (no cure at the moment). So the pressures on health and social services will continue to increase, possibily to the point where society begins to consider euthanasia as an option. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cleopatra Posted October 28, 2012 Report Share Posted October 28, 2012 Yeah! Kill all the old buggers off! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lt Kije Posted October 28, 2012 Report Share Posted October 28, 2012 The system in the UK Obs, depends on people in work paying for those who don't, So we need to change the system so that people who are working, pay for their own retirement. That would help them but not the already retired. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
observer Posted October 28, 2012 Author Report Share Posted October 28, 2012 Thought a man of your egalitarian leanings would have asked the question: can folk afford it? To solely fund one's own pension would cost an arm and a leg! Most pensioners will have paid NI all their working life towards a State pension; others would have paid towards superanuation schemes on top of that. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
asperity Posted October 28, 2012 Report Share Posted October 28, 2012 I have paid towards my pension (apart from the state pension) all my working life, but thanks to government interference and theft I will probably not get anywhere near what I might have expected all those years ago. Don't forget all the people who haven't bothered contributing towards any sort of private pension scheme, and those who couldn't be bothered working. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
observer Posted October 28, 2012 Author Report Share Posted October 28, 2012 Which is the point I'm making; most of them couldn't afford it anyway. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lt Kije Posted October 29, 2012 Report Share Posted October 29, 2012 It's the same in most private pension schemes, the people paying into it are paying for the people who have retired, The Merchant navy scheme used to be quite good one. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
observer Posted October 29, 2012 Author Report Share Posted October 29, 2012 .. but on the basis of the scheme, they are paying towards their own retirement, that's how these schemes were set up. In the early days, less folk were claiming a pension, whilst more were paying in. As time has gone on, more claimants begin to make the scheme more costly for the employer. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RingoDave Posted November 11, 2012 Report Share Posted November 11, 2012 Is this just a box ticking exercise? How do you catch patient abuse by spending a couple of hours in the place? We expect good care in these establishments, what we don't expect is mental and physical abuse of our loved ones. Of course it is newsworthy in the fact that the problem gets flagged up. N, it isn't a "box-ticking" exercise at all. I have known representatives of CSCI (as it was) spend up to eight hours "shadowing" carers, then spending time interviewing clients and staff. In most cases, they do a very thorough job of checking. Added to this that all private healthcare staff (at least in the best cases) are constantly working with other staff who have been trained to "blow the whistle" on anything even suspicious. The media, as is its remit, concentrate on the rare cases of misuse and almost never mention how co-workers have reacted. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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