Much-changed Poppy Day should remind us of the debt we owe our elderly, says Sheffield business leader

Poppy Day and our tributes to those who made the ultimate sacrifices in armed conflicts will look very different because of the coronavirus restrictions.
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Indeed, it will remind us of the contribution the elderly continue to make to our society having accumulated years of experience.

We all too often have the notion of a unhealthy, aged population, when there is no reason they cannot enjoy the twilight of the years in health and happiness.

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In Sheffield, we have one of the highest concentration of elderly of all the major cities and in the last 10 years the number of citizens over the age of 85 has increased by 139 per cent.

Graham Moore, Westfield Health chairmanGraham Moore, Westfield Health chairman
Graham Moore, Westfield Health chairman

This group are all too often characterised wrongly as a burden on resources when their contribution to making our proud city what it is today has repaid our investment in them times over.

Dwindling numbers of them stood shoulder to shoulder during the wars with comrades who are sadly no longer with u , but gave us the freedoms we have today to decide how we react to protect ourselves and others from coronavirus.

Their sacrifices should motivate us to cherish and value our elderly, making sure lessons from the first lockdown ensure better protection for those who staff care homes and all residents have the care, to live their lives safely to the full.

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Indeed, we have all too often had promises by governments to fix the inadequate financing of care for the elderly that neither meets needs of users or providers.

Remembrance Sunday parades and services will look very different this year, due to coronavirus restrictions and precautionsRemembrance Sunday parades and services will look very different this year, due to coronavirus restrictions and precautions
Remembrance Sunday parades and services will look very different this year, due to coronavirus restrictions and precautions

Now is the time for us to accept honestly that this huge challenge is still unresolved and no better time to resolve this once and for all.

We quite rightly applauded the frontline workers in the NHS and indeed their services will be needed in the coming months not only to address more coronavirus cases but the huge backlog running in millions of delayed so called routine procedures.

Not routine for those suffering waiting for diagnosis, treatments and limiting in some cases their very recovery.

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Poppy Day being curtailed should galvanise us to support our veterans in every way possible, even if we have to be innovative in every way possible to avoid the financial consequences for the Royal British Legion.

We quite rightly put rainbows in our windows to recognise what sacrifices the brave NHS workers made. Prhaps we could put poppies in our windows, on our social media and anything that reminds us of the huge sacrifices our proud veterans made.

Indeed, doing so should remind all of us of the debt we owe to our elderly and that a civilised society has a duty to cherish and protect them.