Those With Dementia Are People, Not Objects (UK)

Today's real oldies are the people, in their 80s or 90s, who have outlived the Saga Generation, grown frail, lost their marbles, and ended up dependent on carers. And theirs is the most unenviable lot. They are sometimes the victims of what is known as Elder Abuse, occasionally inflicted on them by professional carers but more often, and more shockingly, by their own children.

In the United States, it has been estimated that five per cent of old people are mistreated in some way; and the consensus among the experts is that most elder abuse – physical, financial, psychological or even sexual – is carried out by relatives.

The fact that somebody as rich and famous as the late Brooke Astor, the New York socialite and philanthropist, could, after passing the age of 100, be defrauded by her only son, made to sleep on a urine-stained sofa, prevented from seeing her pet dogs, and forced to live on a diet of mushy peas, shows that nobody is secure against such ill-treatment. And so it is in Britain, where the charity Action on Elder Abuse has estimated that 53 per cent of theft, fraud and deception against elderly people is committed by their children.

Their treatment in care homes has also been under scrutiny, most notably in the recent BBC television documentaries by the tycoon-turned-philanthropist Gerry Robinson. Robinson investigated care homes for the demented and found that the staff in many of them were lacking any real sympathy for the residents. "It isn't the quality of the curtains or the colour of the carpet or even the fact that it doesn't smell that are important," he said. "Those aren't the things that matter. What matters is the loving care that is given."

It requires huge patience and commitment by carers to devote loving care to people who are often cantankerous and ungrateful and seem to have no good reason to want to go on living. But as Robinson showed, even the demented can be made quite happy by being given simple things to do. He showed us a crippled old man who had a job spraying motor cars and who was lifted out of boredom and depression by being given a paintbrush and paint and a piece of board on which to slap it.

Elder Abuse, occasionally inflicted on them by professional carers but more often, and more shockingly, by their own children.

In the United States, it has been estimated that five per cent of old people are mistreated in some way; and the consensus among the experts is that most elder abuse – physical, financial, psychological or even sexual – is carried out by relatives.

The fact that somebody as rich and famous as the late Brooke Astor, the New York socialite and philanthropist, could, after passing the age of 100, be defrauded by her only son, made to sleep on a urine-stained sofa, prevented from seeing her pet dogs, and forced to live on a diet of mushy peas, shows that nobody is secure against such ill-treatment.

And so it is in Britain, where the charity Action on Elder Abuse has estimated that 53 per cent of theft, fraud and deception against elderly people is committed by their children.

Then this week came the upsetting revelation in a report for the Royal College of Physicians that thousands of old people are being forced to have feeding tubes implanted in their stomachs if they want to be admitted to care homes. "This is a widespread problem," said Dr Rodney Burnham, the chairman of the working group that produced the report. "Many care homes say they will not take a patient until they have had a gastrostomy. There is no reason for them to do that. They should have nursing support."

But it does sound like further evidence of a tendency to treat the demented as objects rather than as people, especially in this case by depriving them of one of their few remaining pleasures, which is eating and doing so in company. The report claims that the practice of force-feeding old people through tubes in their stomachs does not even prolong their lives. But even if it did, what would be the point?

Abridged

SOURCE:   The Telegraph, UK

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