Dr John Sentamu: find the courage to reform elderly carePosted on:
The Archbishop of York today urges David Cameron and Nick Clegg to find the “moral courage” finally to solve the funding crisis in elderly care.
I am always struck how much older people have given to society through the years. They have laid the foundations upon which this great nation has been built, but too readily we take their contribution for granted and turn our back on them in older age.
It is important we look after our older people and always remember to treat them with the respect they deserve – especially those who become frail and vulnerable. We have a duty to support and care for every one of them.
When times become difficult, families up and down the land often give loving care to their older relatives, however they can’t always provide 24 hour care on their own. Many older people live alone, far from family.
That’s why social and elderly care services are so vital. Social care helps them wash, eat, go to the toilet and get out of bed – the things most of us take for granted.
But social and elderly care is in crisis. There are now around 800,000 older people who desperately need social care but who get no help at all.