Christmas time, the time of year when devout Athiests put up trees and want to have presents, lol! ...
Christmas time, the time of year when devout Athiests put up trees and want to have presents, lol! Wonder why they do that........
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This year’s Comic Relief (2005) will soon be upon us (March 11th) and we will all be having fun, wearing large hairy noses and doing stupid things to raise money for charity. This year the main theme is one that is very close to my heart – elder abuse. I am writing this to raise awareness.
The run up to Comic Relief has already started with the wonderful portrayal of elderly life in Britain today by Richard Briers, in 'Dad'. This was shown on BBC1 at 8pm on Wednesday night and was a stark reminder to everyone of just how the elderly are treated in British society. A burden.
So elder abuse, what exactly is it?
Abuse of the elderly is endemic in our life. Elderly people are not given much respect, filtering down from the government to the man on the street. The media often take cheap shots at them in dramas, quiz shows and soaps. ‘I don’t think that’s true’ , I hear you saying in your mind. But it IS true, and when you are sitting with an elderly person next to you on the couch, you are all too aware of how much it happens.
Abuse is a strong word to use for lack of respect, and it is abuse that needs to be checked. A Care Manager (CM) for older people, has an average caseload of 100 people to keep an eye on, and to follow up any concerns raised by the family, District Nurse or care agency. If the CM was to see two elderly people per day, each working day, it would take nearly three months before getting back to number one again. Things can happen in those three months, that may go unnoticed unless someone raises a concern.
There is a strict limit on funding of care for the elderly person, and the day services offered are strictly rationed. An elderly
person can spend much of their time alone and vulnerable.
Each Residential Care Manager is keeping a check on 200 clients on average. How can a decent service be given to each individual when there are 199 other people also out there to be checked?
In my area, (South-East) the price guide for care homes to charge an elderly person to receive residential care is £390 per week. Anything above this has to be ‘topped up’ by the family, causing extra stress at a time when families are having to make tough decisions, and often have money troubles of their own with University fees, mortgages etc. The elderly person’s home has to be sold to pay the cost of the home until their assets drop to £20,000, then it is on a sliding scale until they have £10,000 left to pay for their funeral and death duties. At this point, the council will pay the fee. If an elderly person has no money or home to sell, they automatically are funded by the local council in a home at the set level of £390.
By way of comparison, a children’s home costs approximately £1800 per week with no contribution from the family.
This can be seen as discrimination. Obviously, children need to be cared for in a safe environment away from harm, and nobody would ever dispute that. But so do our elderly people. The message seems to be, though, that older people are just not worth the higher funding..
And you get what you pay for, let’s face it. The care home has little money coming in and so pay the carers a very low rate. It is the dedication of the carers which create a homely environment for the residents, and that has to come from the quality of the management.
Where things fall down is when there is a home manager who distances themselves from the home. They don’t keep a decent check on the home they are providing and the carers suffer from lack of moral. Caring in homes is very demanding and physically exhausting. At times things go wrong and tempers get frayed. Without proper management, this may go unchecked and tragedies may occur.
Caring for an elderly person in your own home is equally difficult. Elderly people are demanding, have set routines, different diets to younger people, constantly talk about the past, may need more sleep or maybe need less sleep. They can’t be rushed to do things and they get very fatigued, very easily. This can be a recipe for disaster as was shown so clearly in the recent drama, and the stress levels may rise very quickly.
The main areas of Abuse.
Financial Abuse. This is very common. Elderly people are not always very good at keeping tabs on their finances, and will accept that the people that are close to them are trustworthy. Often this is a misconception, and carers or members of the family will coerce the elderly person into handing over all kinds of amounts with some story or other. Neighbours may offer to go shopping, then claim far more back from the person than the goods cost. Police or Social Services will look into any allegations made. If anyone suspects that financial abuse is taking place, then they should raise the alarm with the local social services department. But, be prepared to give your name as it may not be acted upon if it comes from an anonymous call as there are many people with grudges to settle against co-care workers.
Physical Abuse. A serious abuse. This can range from the more common newspaper report of bruising and broken bones. It can be from other causes though. Leaving someone in a soiled incontinence pad will cause pressure sores and infection. Not using the necessary equipment for lifting may dislocate a shoulder or wrist. Giving drinks that are scalding hot to someone with shaky hands or with a dementia. . Putting them in a bath that is too hot. Not ensuring that they have regular health checks – all physical abuse and should be raised as an alarm if there are any suspicions. I include drug abuse in this category too, as too many elderly people are given medication to ‘calm them down’. This may need checking with the GP as to what reason is behind the drug regime. Never be afraid to ask!
Emotional Abuse. Shouting at the person. Laying blame for soiling their garments, dropping their food or drinks, making them feel guilty for daring to grow old. Not providing any opportunities to keep their minds active, with puzzles, books, or group activities. Leaving them in a room where someone else is tormenting them continually. Making them feel a burden on the family, the carers, or society in general. We will all get there, God willing, but it is a very scary place to be when we find ourselves there.
Neglect. This is a biggy. We should all have dignity in our lives and so should our elderly members of society. We should be helping them keep their dignity by ensuring they are warm, fed, and with fresh clothes. Some elderly people self neglect and it is difficult to overcome this as they have a right to stay filthy and live on pickle and cream crackers if they so wish! However, it is down to choice and if there is a way to helping the elderly person to be prompted to maintain their personal hygiene and diet, then this could by family, neighbours or an agency carer via social services (means tested as to whether they need to pay a contribution or not).
Neglect can occur in care homes too. If you suspect that the elderly person is losing weight, looking stressed or lacking motivation, or smelling of strong urine, never worry about raising an alarm. It doesn’t have to be with the home manager if that is a worry. An Adult Protection alert can be raised with the care manager at social services.
Conclusion
There are many wonderful care homes, with caring staff who go that extra mile to make the resident’s life happy and free from worry at a time when they are looking backwards rather than forwards.
There are also many elderly people who are able to live very independently up into their 90’s with minimal help from anyone.
There are others whose lives are a living hell at the hands of unscrupulous people who find some kind of reward from abusing or neglecting elderly people.
Have lots of fun on March 11th, and raise lots of money for the many and varied schemes up and down the country, and please remember the message behind this year’s antics!
(the strange ratings are for the show itself)
Orlando 2005 : O )
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Great review! rated vh as I am out of E's!! Feel free to remind me via my gb and I will be happy to re-rate X
jonathanb 31.03.2005 11:37
An excellent, thought-provoking piece of writing. I missed "Dad" but have heard a lot about it and hope to see it when it is repeated. I find it hard to imagine how some people can be so heartless towards the elderly, but it must be a tremendous strain in many ways when, as you rightly say, their family have various other pressures on their time and resources.
Advantages: Do some genuine good. Comic Relief addresses a broad range of issues. Suffering in it's entirety is tackled, and good on them. Disadvantages: Don't talk nonsense.
RichardW 17.03.2001 ·
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Ciao members have rated this review on average: very helpful
Review of Comic Relief
Advantages: Do some genuine good. Comic Relief addresses a broad range of issues. Suffering in it's entirety is tackled, and good on them. Disadvantages: Don't talk nonsense.
RichardW 17.03.2001 ·
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Ciao members have rated this review on average: very helpful
Review of Comic Relief
Feb 26th, 2005
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