Housebound and helpless: The state of Scotland's care homes. (24.1.21)

 Can't go one day without something silly in the news, huh? I was originally going to do this post on the proposed £500 COVID payment that Westminster was in talks about, but it was recently shut down, though I have a feeling we've not seen the end of it, god knows that it made some commie or #RESISTance member quite happy to see the big house consider soft communism. Instead, we'll be tackling a far brighter topic, deaths of the elderly! 

Now, this is a topic that is close to my heart. I, since lockdown started last March, have been acting as pseudo-carer and best friend to my great-grandmother, visiting every week since the shutdown of all free will started. She went from going out every week to do her shopping, to now having not left the house for 305 days, almost an entire year. I feel sorry for her, being at the age of 98 (99 this year), her entire life was put on hold, having no interaction with the outside world aside from me, her friend and a few family members. I've seen the effect that lockdown has had on her memory too, being the most upsetting when she thought that it was New Year's Eve, almost a week after the year started. It's been painful to see someone so wonderful go through this, however one of the few things I'm thankful for is that she isn't in a Scottish care home. My great-grandmother has made her hatred of care homes very clear, she's been living in the same house since after the war, and by god she's going to die in it, I think we can all respect. 

Scotland's care home situation during the pandemic has been horrendous, from news reports telling of shortages in PPE, and now a total of over 400 homes being investigated over COVID-19 deaths, this is beyond fishy. Now, despite however many gripes some of us more sceptical may have over the way that COVID deaths are being charted, the fact that any of our countries silver citizens are being killed, and the most that our media can squeeze out is a very mild headline rather scares me. MPs should be raked over the coals over this in my eyes! How a country treats its elderly and retired is a telltale sign as to how much they care for the public health of their population, and this is very telling of Holyrood's views. The SNP, while this is going on, have been all to keen to push it under the floorboards, with talks over a second independence referendum (Fat chance, Nicola, ya fucking fishy bitch!) and tales of "essential" building repairs while the population sits and suffers either in makeshift prison for the criminally old or saddled with mental issues as they wither away in student halls, or the four walls they thought would protect them, it's disgusting. 24% more elderly in care homes have died this year, if that fact isn't enough to sober your average Turra wino, then I don't know what is.

My thoughts go out to those who've lost any loved ones during this time, not only because of the cruelty of their circumstance, but also because they have not had the chance to grieve, with care homes not allowing visitors for a large swathe of the lockdown. Let's hope that those responsible for this wind up with a nurse who remembers these days when their day comes, but until then, enjoy your weekend! 

I'll see you dirty punks tomorrow, with another post from the waste bucket of my mind. 

[SOURCES]

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-55753816

https://scottishcare.org/scottish-care-works-with-local-organisations-to-address-ppe-shortage/ 

https://www.heraldscotland.com/news/18970705.care-crisis-need-reform-care-sector-scotland--/

[My balls are more wrinkly than your nan] - Em.