"Care of the Elderly"

Care of the Elderly July 10, 2008. BBC Radio (UK). This article details the efforts of reporter Jon Manuel to investigate the treatment of elderly patients in British hospital wards and nursing care facilities. Through a series of undercover investigations (which can be examined in more length via links within the article), Jon and his accomplices find that elderly patients are often lonely and severely neglected by nursing home staff. For example, one testimonial focuses on the lack of proper enforcement from the Commission for Social Care Inspection (CSCI). This story highlights the disturbing ways that a lack of proper health code inspection and, furthermore, enforcement of health code policies can indeed be fatal. Personally, the story that struck me most powerfully was the "Diary of a Social Worker" portion. During this account from a social worker, the neglect of elderly hospital patients is brought to light. One resident is not informed or consulted in any way during her stay. This leads me to question why society thinks that elderly patients cannot think for themselves. They are often perfectly capable of understanding their situations and expressing concerns. Therefore, does society take away the authority of the elderly sick because they are no longer "productive" in society? Clearly, this article led me to more questions than answers.