We have just come across the judgement on an appeal of a case that we have flagged up before regarding a lady who is not incontinent being told that she can use incontinence pads at night rather than being provided with a carer to help her use a commode.
This is an extremely alarming case. To be told that whilst continent incontinence pads are acceptable during the night because no-one can assist is appalling. It is abuse. It puts the lady at risk of pressure sores and infection and promotes dependency when Government policy stresses the importance of maintaining the independence of our eldelry citizens.
We are aware that this sort of practice is becoming the norm in the NHS in order to allegedly save nurses time. This judgement will only serve to make the problem worse. It will give other local authorities the green light to do the same - particularly in the current economic climate.
We should all be lobbying at the highest level about this case - unless we are happy to expect this sort of 'care' when our time comes.
Click here to read the Equality & Human Rights response to the judgement.
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