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Listening to the punters
When my late mother-in-law was in a residential home, I visited
her regularly. I noted the way men and women segregated
themselves into ‘his and hers’ areas, though a frisson of excitement
and/or disapproval emerged when an elderly man had the temerity to
invade the women’s quarters. I noted the endless boredom of the
afternoons, when the television was switched on to programmes of no
apparent interest to their audience. I noted the way meals were
served – separate tables yes, but no alcohol, no menus, none of the
civilized delights of dining.
So I researched ‘best practice’ residential homes, talked to
campaigners and wrote several features in national newspapers on how
to improve the quality of life for elderly residents. Food, mini
kitchens, drug management, alcohol, sex, pets, dealing with death –
that sort of thing. That was some years ago. How things haven’t
changed!
This year I read a feature in a national newspaper on what people
want from care homes – or ‘old people’s homes’ as they were
called in less PC times. ‘No set meal times,’ was one comment.
‘Gentleness from well-paid staff with time to listen,’ was another.
Cruise ships, Viagra on tap, resident dog walkers, an obedient chef
were also mentioned.
At around the same time, the Government announced steps to take
forward public consultation on improving community health and care
services. The Your Health, Your Care, Your Say campaign
started in September with a series of public engagement events, and
a White Paper is due to be published at the turn of the year. Some
of the questions included in the consultation are:
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How to design services that fit the way people live their lives?
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How to meet people's needs at different stages in their lives,
for example in end of life care?
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How do individuals and communities want to be involved in shaping
local services?
This is part of a new shift in public consultation – asking the
punters what they want. (See other developments in the laterlife
feature You and Your
Pension: things to say to your MP. )
All of this of course relates to statutory public services,
not the private sector, which can be better but also can be a lot
worse. Abuse of the elderly is rife in independently-run residential
services. While four-fifths of referrals on abuse originate from
residential services both public and private, 94 per cent of these
are from the private sector. People in this sector need a voice too,
but a new Equality Bill as it stands would give older people in
private care settings no opportunity to have their human rights
protected in law.
The Department of Health has set up a website to get our views
on health and care in the community. They say they really really
want to hear from us. You can log on to www.nhs.uk/yoursay.
There you will find a series of questions to answer which provide an
opportunity for all of us to have our say. But don’t expect too
much. There’s no room for comment or ideas. And nothing about Viagra
in care homes. As at 2 July 2007, the web page is unavailable but
the NHS website hints that it is probably a temporary error, so do
try it either through Google or through the NHS site.
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Talkback is a
regular feature in laterlife.com run by
journalist and author Helen Franks. 
