Elderly deserve to be treated with respect

THE Rostrevor nursing home scandal has truly sickened me.

It is a grim, damning indictment of our failing health service.

Our parents, and grandparents, are the most important people in our lives and if we cannot trust Ireland’s nursing homes who can we trust?

This country needs to take a massive step back, a long look at itself and ask the questions, How is our health service being run, who runs it, and who can we hold accountable for these disgusting acts of abuse?

Frankly, I would like to see the men/women at the top taken down, reprimanded and removed from their positions within the service.

Fundamental, extensive, in-depth regulations have to be in place to make sure our nursing home carers are the best they can be.

Often, Government departments try to fix problems from the top down, but in this case the opposite is necessary.

Review every carer employed in the country, renew Garda vetting of them, ask fellow employees and elderly residents about them, and make comprehensibly sure that each carer is of the utmost honesty and ability.

Our elderly people deserve unrivalled respect, to be treated impeccably and with dignity.

Justin Kelly

Edenderry

Co Offaly