'Is Andy Burnham's dream of decent care for the elderly so terrifying?' - Nancy Fielder column
Is the Prime Minister's dream of decent care for the elderly so terrifying?
What did the press write about the NHS when it was nothing more than a twinkle in the eye if those who wanted equal access to health care regardless of their financial status?
The Prime Minister's talk of a National Care Service has set columnists chattering and, not surprisingly, they are not keen on anything that means he could be coming for more tax.
There's no detail to the plan, there are no figures and the books have not been balanced but the debate is well and truly on.
I had a bit of an argument about it, as many people have at home. The only difference is I did it on the box. I regularly review the following day's newspapers on Sky News Press Preview and social care was a hot topic on Saturday night.
I love bringing a Yorkshire perspective. This is the centre of the universe, right?
It seems fairly simple to me that we should do more to care for those who need it. But we all live in our own bubbles with networks that confirm our existing beliefs. That is popped with a loud bang when you come up against people who fundamentally disagree with your values. In these divisive times, the world is full of them!
Is the Prime Minister's dream of decent care for the elderly so terrifying?
It will be massively expensive. That's not new. Many of you reading this will already know the staggering costs because you've had to pay them personally. Maybe your parents needed looking after in a way that you did not have the expertise to provide? Did you shed tears because your spouse had to go into a home when dementia forced your hand and you could no longer keep them safe?
The extraordinary costs faced by people with very ordinary levels of savings means that our personal pockets already bear witness to the money involved.
In the closing years of our lives, the price is far from just financial. We would all want to be cared for by our loved ones and, in reverse, to give that care to those closest to us without involving strangers.
But we live and die in the real world and that simply is not possible for everyone.
In the news we all see the cost to police of huge manhunts when somebody with dementia wanders off, all too often because they don't have the correct support.
What about the bill for that degrading term 'bed blockers'? Unfortunately, I have spent a lot of time on hospital wards for the elderly recently. It is not the best place for so many patients who are stuck there because there is no alternative. They need care not medical attention.
The irony is that having decent social care would cost society less and it would ease a bedsore that the NHS is unable to heal. Better care, the correct care and care for all. We will all need it one day, just like we all need the NHS at some point in our lives.
Yes, it will need paying for and change won't come instantly, but politicians should want to make a real difference...regardless of the way the instant popularity points will land
.My job allows me a platform to make my voice known on local issues and I never take that for granted because I am only really here to represent you.
I always love getting feedback whether it is just that you are pleased to hear a rare Sheffield accent on national TV or that you wish I would highlight something completely different. So please help me keep my finger on the pulse. What is your personal experience of social care in this city? What should politicians do to make it better and who should foot the bill?
Email me [email protected] or write to me: Nancy Fielder, The Star, Fountain Precinct, Balm Green, Sheffield, S1 2JA.
There are powers at play which want to privatise more of our NHS and are already doing it. There are plenty who don't want to contribute even a small amount to social care. We all want to live as well as we possibly can and the only way to do that is by supporting each other. Should our age mean we're viewed as less valuable, less deserving? I know what I'd say if we were talking about my mum and, I hope, me one day.
I don't believe the things that truly matter change very much as we age.
That is what actually makes life worth living ... well.