an age old scandal

I said on radio yesterday that I sounded like a broken record. I was talking about the treatment of elderly people in nursing homes. And I made the point, yet again, that the only difference between old people and me, and maybe you, is that they got there first.

And they should be spending their twilight years in as much comfort – and with as much personal dignity – as they can.

And yet – again and again – we hear or read about elderly people lying in their own urine for hours in nursing homes. Old people not getting their medication on time. Not being fed on time. Being put to bed – or woken up – at all hours because it suits the staff.

I raised the issue yet again yesterday because of a case that is in the news.

It concerns elderly people at a Mornington nursing home who have apparently been exposed to serious risk.

The Sir James By the Bay nursing home. Government inspectors reported that the nursing home failed 18 of 44 inspection issues.  Business Manager, Robert Lindsay came on my programme and claimed earnestly that the health and welfare of residents  was paramount.  I asked Mr. Lindsay: Would you put your Mum or Dad in the Sir James?

He said his mother actually lived there—but I would bet she lives in a private apartment and is not one of the 103 elderly people whose health and welfare is at serious risk according to the inspectors.

It angers me the way that some old people are treated in nursing homes across the state. It is true, as I have said, life can be tough for the nurses and carers. People  are incontinent. They are demanding. Some have Alzheimer’s.  But they deserve respect. They deserve qualified medical care. They deserve decent, palatable, hygienic food. And too often they don’t get it.

I mentioned yesterday that I had heard first hand reports of elderly people getting served party pies for dinner. And one caller, who had worked in a nursing home kitchen, said her  budget was five dollars a day per person. She said her hardest job was trying to make the meals  palatable – let alone interesting or healthy.

At Sir James there were a number of residents who had sudden and dramatic weight loss and, apparently, nothing was done about it.

How much fresh fruit do nursing home residents get? How much fresh vegetables? Salads. Roast vegies. These people have their pensions claimed by nursing home owners. They commit the money from their home ownership. They deserve much better.

As I said these private nursing home owners should remember: the only difference between their residents and us is that they got there first.

Friday, October 7, 2005

©Copyright Derryn Hinch 2005