Monday 26 September 2011

ARE THE ELDERLY AN UNDERVALUED COMMODITY?

 Well where to start, there are so many things I shout at the telly about, yet do nothing about them, you catch my drift? How many of us do spend our time challenging the world and offering up solutions from our settee? I think its something to do with aging, I have become more prone to the idea that society does not value its elderly. What a wasted commodity we are, all the skills both in our past working lives and life skills, seem to be in the skip of life, not put to good use.

 Recently I work voluntarily in a hospice it was a day care centre and I was really looking forward to being a support to nursing staff and patients. Sadly that was not to be, I was told in no uncertain terms that my job was to make tea and play games of sorts with the patients. No one asked me about my previous working profession, I had been a nurse and a Health Visitor,  trained as a counsellor and finally spent twenty years working as a psychotherapist. I could have helped patients talk about their conditions, given support but I was treated like an idiot by the sister who was determined at all costs to look busy even though on some days we only had 4-6 patients.

How sad I felt. We older end of society are given huge help by the medical profession to stay alive and be healthy and yet devalued, and in the main we are not cherished because we are to be resented as a drain on society. Why has no one thought of using our abilities collectively I am sure we could give mentoring and support to the young in their difficult quest of earning a living and supporting families and young children
What do you think I would love to know?...

No comments:

Post a Comment