An article in the 'Daily Mail' today was entitled :
One carer for 100 pensioners, UK's record of shame
Based on a report for the O.E.C.D, it made the following points, that :
* Britain has just one carer per 100 pensioners, a smaller proportion than anywhere else in the developed world with Ireland having three times as many, the U.S.A. five times and Sweden has 12 times.
* the number of personal carers, including those working in residential homes and 'home helps', has almost halved since the late 1990s with the 161,000 in 1998 falling to 97,000 in 2009.
Last month, the 'Equalities and Human Rights Commission' revealed that overstretched carers routinely spend less than 15 minutes with pensioners in their homes, forcing them to choose between being washed and being fed a hot meal and older people were regularly left malnourished, while others were abandoned in bed for 17 hours.
Ros Altmann, of the over-50s group, 'Saga', said:
‘It’s a national disgrace that we have devoted so little to care in this country, and it’s quite clear we have not taken the issue of care as seriously as our neighbours. Other societies seem to have more respect for older people.’
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