WHEN did the NHS decide that elderly people didn't matter?
When did it happen that frail, frightened, vulnerable old people weren't just denied care and compassion but abandoned, abused and treated like dogs by a system specifically set up to care for them? But maybe it's our fault. Maybe we have idolised nurses and doctors for too long, affording them the kind of respect they simply don't deserve.
Maybe our misplaced trust in these people has allowed many of them to literally get away with murder. Because what kind of nurse or doctor allows an elderly patient to lie in their own excrement for days? What kind of nurse allows them to die of starvation and dehydration? What kind of doctor ignores elderly cancer patients screaming in agony?
Well, according to a report by health watchdogs this week - too damn many. The ten appalling cases highlighted are said to be just the tip of the iceberg. And I'm sick to death of hearing doctors and nurses say patients get neglected because they're just so busy.
Well, the ones I've seen chatting on hospital corridors weren't. And even if they were it can never be an excuse for being callous or uncaring. Anyway, if those paid to "care" are too busy to attend to the basic human needs of sick, elderly people or just don't give stuff then they should sod off and get another job. Because any nurse or doctor who ignores a pensioner needing food or water, who's too busy to hold their hand when they're frightened, too busy to comfort them when they're dying, shouldn't be allowed anywhere near sick people on the basis that they simply don't get them.
No matter how rushed medics are, they have a basic human and moral responsibility to the people in their care. It's irrelevant how much paperwork there is or how many forms there are to fill in. Their priority is, and always should be, sick people - especially the elderly, many of whom can't help themselves.
It's time we stopped treating doctors and nurses as if they are special people whose actions shouldn't ever be questioned. Because while many of them are devoted and inspirational - too many are not and that HAS to change. And those who ignore the agonised cries of sick old people, who stand by and watch them die, ought to be prosecuted for wilful neglect, maybe even manslaughter.
In the 21st century it's unacceptable that the elderly are dying of starvation, dehydration, bed sores and MRSA. Because none of those conditions happens in a day. All are the result of sustained neglect which, with care, could have been prevented.
Clearly, there are some wonderful nurses and doctors but the bad 'uns have to be rooted out. But how can we change their attitude and society's in the week we're told that elderly patients who block hospital beds can be forcibly evicted with trespassing laws. What kind of society could even THINK of doing that to its most vulnerable citizens?
When my mum and dad were nearing the end of their lives and were in the NHS system they used to tell me how grateful they were to have me fight their battles.
They were also blessed in that they were treated by medics who actually cared whether they lived or died because so many of their friends weren't and it broke their hearts. I'm ashamed that Britain is now a country which disrespects old people, treats them like they're a nuisance and allows them to die in agony and in fear. And while the biggest fault lies with those people at the top, it's still the nurses and the doctors who can make the biggest difference.
Sometimes with just the touch of the hand or a kind word.
Because one day they too will be old and afraid!
