What's the difference between South African state police killing an innocent taxi-driver and UK state NHS staff killing innocent patients?

 

What's the difference between South African state police killing an innocent taxi-driver and UK NHS staff killing innocent patients?

 

Is there one? - Yes. - The South African police involved have been arrested...

The Which? survey that found appalling treatment of the elderly

was reported on BBC News yesterday. "The standards of care provided for older people in their homes in the UK has been labelled "shocking and disgraceful" by a consumer group. Which? found cases of missed visits, food left out of reach, medication not given and people being left in soiled beds during its investigation." And the rest.

It is only the most recent among torrents of similar reports with their litanies of neglect, indifference, inhumanity, etc. resulting in very great suffering for far too many elderly and vulnerable people. These people have a right to expect better of society and of the workers who are employed to care for them on its behalf. My understanding is that health workers like doctors, nurses, dentists, etc have a 'duty of care' toward the people for whom they provide care, and that this 'duty of care' is a phrase with legal standing. Do carers employed to provide care in the domestic home rather than in hospitals and care homes have a similar 'duty of care' towards their charges/clients? - If so, then it's Heaven help the vulnerable! 'cos nothing at all is ever done about the staff in the hospitals and care homes who treat elderly patients with scandalous cruelty - nothing effective, nothing significant, nothing that appropriately punishes the wrongdoers or discourages others from similar behaviour. Nothing worthy of the name of action. Nothing.

Is this the way we want old people to be treated? - Our elderly relatives? - Ourselves? - Of course it isn't. - Then why do successive Governments permit it? and by permitting it, encourage it?

Panorama: the shocking abuse of patients with autism and learning difficulties

Panorama: most people in the UK will have learned of and been horrified by the scandalous and criminal abuse of young patients in a British 'hospital' that purported to be a suitable residence for the care of these patients, some autistic, some with learning difficulties. In fact, it was for them effectively a locked prison in which they were physically and mentally abused by some of the 'carers'/gaolers, led by a bully who took pleasure in taunting and assaulting them. Most people in this country are aware of widespread, inhuman treatment of elderly patients in some hospitals and care homes, but the special extra horror that Panorama has revealed to us this week is this secret abuse of young, vulnerable patients.

But for Panorama's investigative journalist embedded in the hospital/prison and his video record of the assaults, the chilling probability is that those young victims would have spent the rest of their lives being tortured by warped 'carers' such as were seen in the programme last Monday. Because the shameful accompanying facts of the matter are that the abuse was repeatedly reported to the Care Quality Commission by a whistle-blower who had formerly worked at the hospital, but his evidence was ignored. - Ignored! - The poor victims have no voice themselves because tragically their complaints are routinely and automatically discounted as it is assumed that what they say cannot be relied on to be true.

Panorama has saved them from the continuance of great and unnecessary suffering: Panorama - not the managers of the hospital, not the CEO of the parent company, not - Perish the thought! - the indolent, unconcerned and negligent apology for a regulatory body, the Care Quality Commission! - And herein, in my opinion, is the most scary fact of all: that the highly-paid regulators were as useless to these tortured young people as a chocolate teapot...

Six vulnerable patients died because of uncaring NHS

Health Service and Local Government Ombudsmen reports found that patients with learning difficulties were treated less favourably than others (surely they mean appallingly) and this resulted in "prolonged suffering and inappropriate care". Relatives who complained were effectively ignored.

Mencap, the respected learning disability charity, complained on behalf of the families of six vulnerable people who died in NHS or local authority care between 2003 and 2005, and an investigation was launched.

The Healthcare Commission itself was also criticised.

Mencap wrote about "Death By Indifference"

and here is today's article on the subject in the Telegraph