I wrote this when my mother was living in a care facility (she also had dementia but more acute than my father) just a few years ago in response to a silly survey they sent out. I’m scared nothing has changed in our system and that most of our politicians actually don’t really care which makes no sense unless of course, most politicians have real money in their bank accounts. Money does seem to blind people generally speaking….
To whom it may concern,
Perhaps it sounds jaded but until our society and our health care system change their attitudes towards the elderly (ourselves really), then it’s hard to believe that surveys like this will make any real difference. And real difference is what is needed.
Real, ongoing and consistent interaction between staff and residents, updated facilities, much better training for staff, better communication among staff, better support for staff and ultimately better interactive and complete care for our elderly.
It is utterly heartbreaking to see the residents sitting in wheelchairs in the hallways with not a single staff member able to sit and chat or interact in any way with them. It is not just heartbreaking but completely wrong that staff must quickly feed residents instead of again, interacting or even waiting for them to swallow properly. It is completely crazy that dentures, glasses, beloved blankets and many items of clothes go missing with great frequency and in many cases, are not ever found again. It is extremely sad that residents are initially asked if they would like to participate in programs or events and if the answer is no, they are not brought out to programs and events. And worse yet, once this seems like a trend to staff, residents are not approached again and certainly not brought to these programs or even into the hallways.
It is deeply disturbing to see what our society and our health care system really think of our elderly population. We are all aging and yet we are all just grateful that someone else is willing to clean, feed and look after basic needs for our elderly. It is unfortunate that those of us who are younger cannot make our voices heard. Our voices would say that basic needs are not nearly sufficient. In fact, meeting basic needs is completely inadequate. Life, our lives – all of our lives – deserve far far more.
If indeed any of us are serious about real change then something much more major than a mere survey with limited questions and even more limited possible answers is not the way to go. Address the general population and make them understand that we are aging. Address government and make them understand that we are all aging. Address agencies and care facilities and make them understand we are all aging.
We shame only ourselves. But without real care and concern from our government, we cannot do better.
