Blog 6 - Elderly home care failures breach human rights, report finds

Source

Ramesh, R. (2011, Nov. 23). The Guardian. Retrieved from http://www.guardian.co.uk/society/2011/nov/23/elderly-care-failures-human-rights.

Human rights of many older people are regularly violated

 by home care workers.

Summary

The British home care for elderly people is not as good as people thought it was. A report of the Equality and Human Rights Commission reveals that elderly people are treated very badly. They are not only neglected but also physical and financial abused by home care workers. Home care workers are even so cruel that they place food in front of blind and/or deaf people without letting them know it is there or they place it beyond the reach of the person. Some elderly people are so upset about the way they are treated, that they even have the strong desire to die. According to the National Pensioners Convention, the social care system is in urgent need of reforming. Not only the training of staff should be improved, but also better regulation and monitoring of the care providers are desperately needed.

Reaction

It is devastating, unacceptable and inhuman to read how elderly people are treated in the British home care system. They are robbed and left alone for days without someone who is looking after them. Because they are so vulnerable and not able to stand up against the cruelty by themselves, the government has to change the system before it goes dramatically wrong. Elderly people do not deserve it to be treated like a piece of trash; no one deserves that. Everyone should be treated with dignity and respect. That is why elderly people deserve the best care in the world. Is it that hard to give these people a peaceful and pleasant retirement?