Madam, — I concur with Nuala Hayes’s plea (July 24th) for a support scheme for elderly people who wish to be “cared for in their own homes”. Having worked in nursing homes, I have witnessed only a small minority who have needed to be cared for in a setting akin to a hospital. It is exasperating to see that a majority of those in care homes have the potential and the yearning to live at home but cannot due to financial impediment.
Many assume that everyone in nursing homes is either physically or mentally inept or both. This is not the case.
Instead of concerning themselves with keeping state expenditure to a minimum, the Government needs policies that activate a high standard of living for the elderly in familiar surroundings. — Yours, etc,