Elderly people - abandoned by the state

Valuing elderly people in care

Successive UK governments seem to put elderly people into the category of ‘no economic value’ – and treat them as budgetary burdens.

It means ths state seems to do everything it can to take away everything an elderly person has worked for.

Governments will spend millions helping people with self-inflicted problems like smoking, but callously wash their hands of people who are not only seriously ill but who have paid tax intothe ‘system’ for the longest on the understanding that it would support them.

It’s theft, and it’s cowardly.

The funding system for long-term care is a mess – and it is one that seems to carefully serve only those in power.

When someone you love is seriously ill and all their personal assets are taken away by a state that slams doors in your face when you appeal or even ask for advice, the impact on the whole family is devastating.

Not only is it a breach of trust, but the review and appeal procedures for NHS Continuing Healthcare are cumbersome and draining. They put an unacceptable strain on a spouse, a son or a daughter who has been thrown into the position of having to jump through the most ridiculous hoops to pursue care for someone the state has simply abandoned.