The place I'm talking about was fine when it was run by a suburban council, but it has been taken over by a group whose core business is nursing homes. It has slipped back since. Age care is very lucrative. The Mafia uses them to launder money in the U.S; there is nothing to say the same thing is not happening here. I wouldn't put a dog in a nursing home.

//The place I'm talking about was fine when it was run by a suburban council, but it has been taken over by a group whose core business is nursing homes. It has slipped back since.//

That sounds rather socialist, ttbn.

As I understand it - things have changed regarding
nursing homes. They used to be operated by state or
local governments but things have changed - they are
now run by private enterprises whose fees are increasingly
becoming unattainable especially for those who do not own their own
homes. We had to find additional funding to accommodate our
mum in the best affordable nursing home that we were able to
find. Fortunately for us - the facility and the care was of a
higher standard, maybe because it was new and they were trying
to establish a good reputation. We have seen nursing homes
that were built ten years ago at a presentable level - today
they have become tired, smelly, and delapidated.

What is a killer is the extravagant bond that most places insist
on. One family member with their own home might be able to afford
it - two family members with the same home - can't afford it.

In SA we don't have a good record at all with caring for the aged. Fairly regularly we see hidden camera evidence of assaults on patients. The government-run Oakden facility is still being investigated for neglect and assault by staff. The government has done everything in its power to thwart the enquiry. The only sign of guilt has been the resignation of the Minister responsible.

The only thing the government has done is transfer people to another gulag. They have also transferred the same 'carers' that have been accused of assault and abuse to the same place!

The government mis-managed facilities are are far worse than the private ones. But the private ones are still not up to the standard that should be reflected in their enormous fees. My mother-in-law is well off, financially, so she is paying for neglect. My wife's family is looking into other options, but at 98, the old lady really wouldn't be keen on moving and, mentally, she barely knows what's going on. It's the family who are feeling the pain. It will be a blessing when she passes on. Nobody should have to go through the indignity of old age. Those a---holes who are blocking dignified departures are very hate-worthy.

Dear ttbn,

I feel so sorry for the situation that your mother
in laws is in. It must be very difficult for the
family. Old age should not have to be like this.
Things need to change. I can still recall a doctor
who told a family member when discussing their
relatives condition - "Well, what do you expect -
they're over 80?" Things like that make me cringe.
So unfair.

'...Nobody should go through the indignity of old age...' So says TTBN. A very powerful statement, and one that I'm in the midst of confronting as each day passes by. My two pet hates; are crimes against the young, and crimes against the elderly. Perpetrators should be dealt with, through the full force of the criminal law. And FYI offenders when sentenced to gaol need to be placed on 'protection' from other mainline crims. Such is the abhorrence held for these offenders against society's most vulnerable members.

I heard one such individual placed in the old OBS (Observation Section) for his own protection, had a metal pitcher of boiling water thrown into his eyes, thus blinding him permanently. Having received exhaustive, albeit failed treatment at Prince Henry Hospital , he was placed in the 'Front Yards' the highest level of protection in Long Bay, back in the late 1970's early '80s. And they still managed to terrorise him, by inferring they'd deposited excreta in his food? Whether the Gaol Warders countenanced such activity, I wouldn't know? All that I can attest to, is the utter revulsion these creatures are held in.