In some cultures,

the elderly are sacred,

a divine source of wisdom,

walking history.

   If all this is true, then why do we insist on putting them in homes, to be cared for by people who are being paid minimum wage, yet in a place for which the elderly are paying over their means to be in? Surely the elderly, our mothers, fathers, brothers, sisters, are worth paying more for? It is the care companies who think not. Who think that the most valuable people in our society are worth paying minimum wage for. However the elderly are paying at least £600 a week, so where does it all go? Surely not on the food. A choice for tea between sandwiches or soup, cheese on toast or soup, mashed potato with a fried egg, or soup. And if they don't want that, then a sandwich. They get more choice in prison.
   Residents get one shower/bath a week unless requested otherwise. This could be amended if the ratio of staff to residents was increased. To feel clean is a basic human right. Most of us like to have a shower at least every day, and I know this is a luxury, but who said that the elderly should be any different? Who said that the elderly can't have luxury?
   Because the ratio of staff to carers is so low, there is more stress put onto the staff, and it also means that residents have to wait for longer if they ring their bell. This could mean waiting for half an hour to use the toilet whilst carers are toileting somebody else. For someone with a weak bladder, this is not good. And wetting yourself, or worse, is in no way dignified.

   In child care there are so many reports to write, to protect not only yourself but, more importantly, the child. There is a chart for any change in the child, whether it be in behaviour or a physical change, such as a bruise. The elderly have reports written every morning, evening and night, but in no way as detailed as for a child. A bruise could appear on an old person and no one would know why. Saying that 'they bruise easily' is no excuse. Ok, so old people fall and that is documented. But every bruise needs to be documented, so that if anything is going on, there is proof of it, and the elderly are protected.

   If there were no care homes, there wouldn't be these problems, and there would be less risk of abuse if communities were helping each other. The problem is that people have become too wrapped up in their own lives to see that their parents are the ones who now need them. It is a responsibility you are born with. The responsibility of taking care of your family.

   I once worked for a lady whose mother had developed dementure. She still lived in her own home and the lady paid young people within the community whom she knew and trusted, such as myself, to go in and take care of her mother for a couple of hours a day. Her mother was never alone, she got to stay in her own home and we were paid more than we would have been if we worked in a care home. Her mother got the one to one care she needed. The lady managed to do this with an allowance from the government, as well as herself and her children going in to care for their grandmother.


(In regard to Native Americans,) concerning the aging process, elders are respected for their knowledge and experience. In fact, in traditional families, it becomes their responsibility to pass down their wisdom and learning to the young. All members of a tribe care for the elderly. Death is an accepted fact of natural life, not to be approached with fear.

http://cas.umkc.edu/casww/natamers.htm 

In other words; we should care enough to look after our own elderly. We should take time out of our 'busy lives' to give time to the people who dedicated their lives to giving us ours.

   We should value our elderly enough to learn from them everything they have to teach, which is far more than we could learn in any classroom.

   We should allow them the freedom they deserve. And we should care enough to make this happen.