Was on a bus in Malta heading from the University to Sliema
and happened to sit beside a rather talkative Maltese lady. When you are new to a place even such
mundane conversations become frissons of excitement as they become a window to
this totally new culture you find yourself in.
She was middle-aged and was coming from visiting her
mother-in-law who was in an institution for the elderly on the island. As her mother in law is in her nineties and
very confused much has to be done for her.
The Maltese government has a scheme to help those looking after elderly
parents, but it has, she told me, many restrictions. For example, they only pay for some of the incontinence pads, or
nappies and the family have to supplement for the rest. She said as a nurse herself she was
horrified to find that the home where her mother-in-law is kept puts three
nappies on at once. This is very
uncomfortable for the patient she said and is laziness on the part of the
staff. They also don’t use the lifting
device provided but merely haul out her mother–in-law from her chair when
changing her. This drags her heels on
the ground and causes ulcers. With
daily visits and nursing she told me she had managed to almost cure the ulcers
but was incensed to discover that yesterday they had again not used the lifting
device and pulled her out of the chair with the result the skin was now broken
and raw. She sighed her disappointment,
“They just won’t listen, they must do it their way!” I sympathised, it seems the world is having to cope with an aging
population everywhere and is woefully prepared for the task.
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