Dignity spot-checks
Published on 14 June 2011 10:30 AM
Responding to reports in the media today that spot-checks are to be introduced to assess whether older people are being treated with dignity on hospital wards in Wales, Robert Taylor Age Cymru's Chief Executive says:
"Age Cymru welcomes the announcement today that unannounced spot-checks will be introduced to Welsh hospital wards to protect the dignity of older patients.
"The word ‘dignity' articulates people's minimum expectations of how they should be treated, but too often this simple requirement is ignored and older people's human rights are compromised and overlooked.
"The dignity of older people must be at the heart of all health and care services and dignity in care must not be separated from the broader concept of dignity as a whole.
"Ageism in society as a whole - a culture that fears age and where age is the subject of ridicule rather than celebration must be addressed before we can be sure that dignity will be always be present in our care system.
"As such, the broader fight for age equality is one of the keys to promoting dignity in care.
"While we welcome today's announcement, Age Cymru feels a wider package of measures is needed to ensure older patients' dignity is protected on hospitals wards, including a commitment from the Welsh Government to protect frontline staffing levels."