Wanless Report - care of the elderly

[Iceni]

[quote user="Dotty0"]

The reason why putting up taxes is not a 'vote winner' is because I think you are in a minority and quite frankly noboby is going to vote for a party that wants to charge more.  Lets see them make better use of the money they have got, before they get any more.

Dotty

[/quote]

Very few of us would spend someone else's money wisely which may explain (though not excuse) why governments are notoriously bad at it.

When discussing health care etc pls remember that in this and most other contexts "free" only means that A.N. Other pays. From the little I know of the French system it seems that children are expected to provide and/or pay for their parents care which seems a fairer place to start. Don't quite know how this would work when we are here but they are in London but doubtless someone will explain.

John

not

[Will]

"No I don't think charities should pay for schools, hositpitals or anything else come to that."

But they do (and did a lot more in the past). The school our daughter went to in England is one of the wealthiest charities of its type. The hospice movement is funded to a large extent through charitable trusts.

I'm not saying that it is the right thing to do, but it obviously fills an important gap. Plenty of other things that arguably should be government-funded are paid for by charities - the lifeboats for example - in Britain (and Ireland - the RNLI is generally reckoned to be one of the best such services anywhere, far more effective and efficient than many state-operated services elsewhere.).

I would feel a lot more comfortable with charity funding than relying on private enterprise for things like care homes for the elderly.

Getting off the topic slightly why is it that people have such a hatred of the Daily Mail? I know it's right wing, but is most of the press. It's not what I would choose to read or believe, but a lot of people do - what makes it worse than the Telegraph, the Express, or - dare I say it - the Sun?

[Russethouse]

Re the Daily Mail, I have always thought it was shorthand for someone with right of centre leanings who THINKS they are informed rather than being so ??

By the way if anyone is going to the UK or has friends coming over the Economist article (or what I have read of it so far) raises some interesting points.

John, your point is interesting. I wonder if the French authorities can come after British children, resident elsewhere to contribute to their parents care. If so how many children know this when the move is made ?

[Teamedup]

All this 'fuss' at the moment about old folks. Like there is going to be 'care' when I am old and maybe need it, or hospital care etc. Been discussing this with a friend who is a hospital doctor, they think that there will be little available too. They also reckon that when I say I would like a little something to help me on my way, in the future it will be 'any particular flavour or colour pill madam'.

Now my Dad was smart though and put his affairs in order in his late sixties. He decided that either he was going to get old or die and these things need sorting out, so he did. He's 81 now. We all have choices and if we have assets or money then we have greater choices. We also know what the system is like and has been for many a year now.

[Will]

Yes, I think Wanless, like most such reports, is only stating what was known to be the case anyway. But it needs something written and official to highlight it.

The trouble is, in France, the people don't seem to know or accept what the system is like, and what it can manage to provide. It's always 'jam tomorrow', with those currently earning paying through the nose to prop up the bankrupt healthcare and pension systems, with little thought or action about how it will be funded when it's their turn to need pensions and long-term care. Not too different in many respects from most other countries, but the blinkers are much more firmly attached in the case of the French, and the refusal to accept change is more deeply entrenched.

Part of the Economist feature is available here: http://www.economist.com/opinion/displaystory.cfm?story_id=6744226. Refreshing to see that, for once, it is not the fault of the British homebuyers.

[SaligoBay]

[quote user="KathyC"]Hoorah, we've found an area of agreement: "post code lotteries". You're right, these things should be the same wherever you live in the country, there shouldn't be geographical differences. Does anybody know if this is also the case in France?[/quote]

Kathy, life is a lottery in France too, you only have to read these forums for a while to see that.  Huge differences in the quality of schools, hospitals, roads, rubbish collection, you name it.  Huge differences in cost of living too.

Children paying for their parents' care seems to be one of the few things that doesn't change.

 

[KathyC]

SB
Thanks, you're right. Thinking back over what I've read over the last few months, it's obviously the case in France as well. I just hadn't thought of it in those terms.