13 October 2011

Not a good time to become old

A murky morning and a slightly slow run - possibly because I'm a year older than I was 2 days ago.
The UK news this morning is dominated by a shocking and depressing report which highlights the poor quality of care for elderly people in many state-run hospitals (ref). The fundamental cause seems to be a combination of under-funding which leads to the employment of too many under-qualified, under-trained healthcare assistants, and a management regime which is simply too remote from caring for people. No doubt Cameron’s government will use this as further justification for dismantling and privatising the National Health Service, although there are many indications that standards of care in much of the profit-driven private sector are even worse.

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