View report page

26
persons I am discussing. In ten years I have seen several hundreds
of middle aged couples who must ask themselves not "Shall we live
with the children?" but "Must we have the old parents to live with
us?" not "Shall we move to a smaller house?" but "Are we going to
find we have sufficient room in this small house for your mother and
my father?" and "Are they going to hit it off together?" To them this
booklet should say "Your children will be busy looking after themselves
so do not rely upon them to assist with grandma and grandpa".
"You are both going to have more free time, therefore the Domestic
Help Organiser who because of staff shortage finds it very difficult
to satisfy the demands, may expect to be able to withdraw the service
at present given to your parents". The Doctor may say to you
"District Nurses are very overworked. You will now be able to give
your parents the services they have been giving". "Hospital beds are
hard to obtain. You can now nurse mother at home". "If you wish to
join a Club or Class or to spend a day by the sea you will first need
to find someone to care for the old parents and you are warned that
this is almost impossible".
Middle aged persons with this problem may be a minority group
but I suggest that their need of advice is greater than that of those
who have no such responsibilities, and I hope that they will not be
overlooked. The community has a duty towards minority groups. This
one is kept so busy with its commitments that it has little time to
make its voice heard.
We should appeal to those who can look forward to a retirement
free of such responsibilities to give some regular practical assistance
to those of their contemparies who are involved, and what
better place is there to make such an appeal than at these courses?
Increasing numbers of very young persons are offering to assist the
old, and practical tasks such as gardening, shopping, and carrying
fuel can be undertaken by them, but middle aged and elderly persons
are those best suited to give the old personal attention and supervision.
Many persons approached me for advice about Private Homes
for the Old and several old persons and younger relatives complained
about specific Homes. Good ones are very few; are always full, and
sometimes have short waiting lists. I have grave misgivings about
the suitability of the majority and regret that the very excellent local
authority accommodation is insufficient to meet the demand. 1 am
convinced that the present system of registration and periodic
inspection is not an adequate safeguard against exploitation of the
old, but I doubt whether it is possible to devise a better system.