Long term care for older people

doi:10.1136/bmj.325.7365.660/a

BMJ 2002;325:660 ( 21 September )

Letters

Long term care for older people

Dementia is main issue

Euphemism illustrates ageism in healthcare system

Dementia is main issue

The first 150 words of the full text of this article appear below.

EDITOR $---$ Heath makes a convincing case for abandoning the distinction between personal care and nursing care in England, andtherefore for following the Scottish example of providing freepersonal care for older people in need of it.¹ Frank as thiseditorial is, it does not go to the root of theissue.

There is not a single mention of the importance of dementia in determining the levels of care needed by older people. Moreover,there is a curious general reluctance to acknowledge just howfundamental dementia is to the whole question of long term care.Instead, euphemisms such as "frail" or "vulnerable" are used,which do not reflect the real picture. Yet we know from severalstudies that most residents of all types of care homes, even thosethat do not purport to care for people with dementia, do in facthave this condition. ² ³ Because of the invalid and . . . [Full text of this article]