[Cherie]

Originally Posted by jennyjuniper

Many years ago I worked as a cook in a care home for the elderly and they were being ripped off then!! This was in the 1980's and they were paying 250 pounds a week, which was a lot of money then. They received very basic care and the food budget that I had to work with was ridiculous. The butcher delivered the weekly meat order every Monday and the owner of the home took half for herself, husband and two children. With the other half I had to feed 14 residents and two staff.
It's nothing new, this ripping off and abuse of the elderly and it's time it stopped. Local councils and private companies try to run their 'care' facilities as cheaply as possible and sometimes this results in people being hired who are not suitable for the job, or lack of care and sustenance or both.
However after saying all that, the responsibility of our elderly lies with us. Our parents took care of us when we needed it and it's up to us to care for them when they can no longer do it for themselves.

Agree with that it's just too easy to hand over responsibility to the state, and especially now when it is run so badly, that said money should be available for our elderly, they have contributed all their lives, and it might seem a long way off but we will all get there eventually so it's in everyone's interest to have a sustainable guaranteed social care fund. Buck House, Houses of Parliament, foreign aid, HSE2, all these should divert cash towards this crisis,