Tony Delahoy on the final part of a deeply troubling BBC documentary …
Dear Editor
The third and final part of the BBC television programme ‘Protecting our Parents’ (Thursday 2 May) further illustrated the total inadequacy of the available resources – both staffing and funding – in addressing the human needs of frail individuals who are trying to understand the position they are in, at the same time being asked to decide their future accommodation needs.
Relatives, if available to help, are usually elderly themselves, with limited physical ability and torn by guilt.
One lady, who had dementia and at times could be aggressive, was a changed person after having one-to-one care: it was discovered in these one-to-one sessions that music was very comforting to her.
The extension of one-to-one care will need many more staff, more funding and more training. All authorities, national and local, say money is scarce so it is worth reminding them that all wealth is produced in the first place by people, and that money extracted from that wealth in various taxes still belongs to the people, who in turn elect others to manage to fund what the people need.
The Protecting our Parents series has shown the problems that exist now; the offloading of the elderly from hospital (to prevent ‘bed blocking’) to a sparse choice of expensive care homes, or a home care package which is inadequate, not only for essential needs but for mental inclusion in life.
A rapid increase in building NHS ‘halfway hospitals’ with fully trained staff is urgently needed to cater for the elderly who are in need of other care or accommodation.
Much more funding must be allocated to recruit, fully train and deploy staff to enable all round caring be given in Protecting our Parents.
A. Delahoy
Silverknowes Gardens
