Elderly care - Attitude of civil servants is shameful

Ombudsman Emily O’Reilly was damning, to say the least, in her remarks yesterday about the “thoughtless, insensitive and penny-pinching” attitude towards the elderly by civil servants.

She outlined cases where people experienced untoward delays in the provision of an accessible shower or even incontinence pads, and other small matters that could make life more bearable.

Unfortunately, she was not alone in her criticism of how the elderly can be cruelly mistreated in this country.