Have you got insurance to cover your old age care ?

[Thibault]

[quote user="sweet 17"]

So....?  My point is not that costs, etc. couldn't be raised.  It is that at least there were no huge amounts of profit for owners of the homes.

And, when a resident in a private home can no longer pay, what do you think happens?  Doesn't the government step in to pay?  For government, read tax payers.

New system, old system:  that's not the point.  The point is that there shouldn't be a profit made on the elderly and vulnerable in a deregulated industry (I use the word industry advisedly) where money (privately from the residents and publicly from tax payers), is siphoned into the pockets of some pretty unscrupulous and greedy individuals (again, I qualify by not saying ALL residential home owners).

PS  I don't mind being quoted but it would be nice if you could use the whole post instead of just using parts of it out of context.

[/quote]

 

If your PS was addressed to me - I merely responded to that part of your post with an example from my own experience.  I was not trying to make a political or other point.

I have, in the past, read criticisms from other posters when whole, long posts have been quoted.  I was trying to avoid this, in this case.

You will notice I have quoted your entire post, despite the fact that I am replying to your PS.  I hope you are pleased.

[Swissie]

I agree that seems really unfair RH. My dad used to get quite annoyed about it - as he was one of the few (+mum) - who were paying for their care, because they had been very careful all their life. At the same time, especially in the UK, where property values have multiplied and where a house worth about £4000 in 1960 might be worth £350000 now - can the taxpayer (us) really pay for the totality of care and let children (us again) inherit the lot? I feel the Swiss system, which allows each person a certain sum to distribute to children after death is actually quite fair. Perhaps £20000?

Sweet if you are in a private home and run out of money in the UK - you have to GO! Same if your condition becomes worse. I agree that it is obscene that private and at times totally unscrupulous private homes can make such huge profits on our elderly. The owner of my mil's home had a Rolls and a VERY nice house (Weybridge, Surrey) - BUT the staff were really excellent and so was the care- until of course her condition got worse and she was asked to leave for a State run place for Alzheimer sufferers. Thank goodness she died before she had to go there.

[Russethouse]

People seemed horrified and called it a 'death tax' when a payment of £20,000 was mentioned, but honestly I think that may be a better scheme

I personally think the whole issue of care for the elderly needs a review, there is no one port of call to tell you what steps to take and in what order, what help you may be entitled to etc, and goodness knows what happens if you have no relatives available to help. Its very frustrating

Some things are ridiculous - British Gas it seems cannot stop a meter reader calling, even though there isn't a hope in hell of them getting an answer, so my mother will sit there being frustrated and stressed as she can't answer, and the meter reader will just waste time. Can we arrange for him to call so that someone would be there - no !

[pachapapa]

[quote user="Thibault"]

Quote:   Years ago, homes for the elderly were run by local authorities (no profit involved then) but, of course, as much else (dare I say under Thatcher), there was a massive deregulation programme and these services were taken over by the private sector.  Unquote

In one of my earlier incarnations, I was Supplies Officer for a local authority's care homes and part of my job was to accept tenders for various services - purchase of food, funerals, etc.  The budget I had to work to for food was something like £1.50 per resident, per week.  Even then, it was difficult to achieve. 

[/quote]

Cost structure on a par with Auschwitz then...one can only surmise as to whom would have been running the camps..if the Nazis had actually successfully invaded.

[velcorin]

In some ways the French system is better. Everyone knows the standards are absolutely appalling, that it is incredibly expensive, Basically, you pay until you run out of money, and you've sold everything. Then the State and your children pay. Everyone tries like mad to stay out of them ie if you make it so bad, nobody wants to use them.

I can think of a couple of cases which have made the local paper where I live (you'd have to pay to read them). In one case the owner's wife purchased children in West African, smuggled them into France, then literally used them as slaves. In another, the staff as normal routine handcuffed the "inmates" to the metal bed frames all day/night. Apparently, the "inmates" could not be controlled in any other way.

 

[pachapapa]

An example in deux-sèvres, about 10 kilometres away.

Deux-Sèvres : le cauchemar du Rêve Bleu à Amailloux

05/06/2010 06:32

En février 2009, le préfet et le président du conseil général des Deux-Sèvres prenaient conjointement la décision de fermer définitivement la maison de retraite privée le Rêve Bleu. Située à Amailloux, cette structure comportait sept places et dix-neuf logements locatifs, affectés à l'accueil de personnes handicapés ou malades, et bénéficiant de mesure de protection juridique. Cette fermeture faisait suite à la mise en lumière de manquements constatés trois mois plus tôt, lors d'une vaste opération de contrôle diligentée par le procureur de la République.
Au total, soixante-treize infractions avaient été relevées, allant de la non-déclaration d'employés jusqu'à la maltraitance de pensionnaires, ou encore la consommation de denrées périmées. Mise en cause, l'ex-directrice de cet établissement s'était dite aussitôt « écoeurée » et « victime d'acharnement », réfutant « absolument et fermement » les accusations portées sur la gestion de son établissement et ses pensionnaires.
Le procès de la maison de retraite et sa dirigeante a été repoussé à deux reprises, l'avocat de la défense ayant pointé des insuffisances dans l'enquête.
A l'audience du 1 er juin dernier, le tribunal correctionnel de Bressuire a demandé que l'instruction soit reprise à zéro. Le procureur, qui peut classer l'affaire s'il le souhaite, fera bientôt connaître sa décision.

[Thibault]

[quote user="pachapapa"][quote user="Thibault"]

Quote:   Years ago, homes for the elderly were run by local authorities (no profit involved then) but, of course, as much else (dare I say under Thatcher), there was a massive deregulation programme and these services were taken over by the private sector.  Unquote

In one of my earlier incarnations, I was Supplies Officer for a local authority's care homes and part of my job was to accept tenders for various services - purchase of food, funerals, etc.  The budget I had to work to for food was something like £1.50 per resident, per week.  Even then, it was difficult to achieve. 

[/quote]

Cost structure on a par with Auschwitz then...one can only surmise as to whom would have been running the camps..if the Nazis had actually successfully invaded.

[/quote]

 

Well, it wouldn't have been me as I would have failed the Nuremburg Race Laws [:)]