Dignity Costs Money in the Dis-United Kingdom

Growing old is no joke.
Ask Nosher.
He knows.
Down on our little allotment in South Gloucerstershire in the good old Dis-United Kingdom we were delighted (....in a sarcastic kind of way) to learn that Gordon the Moron has appointed former chat-show host Sir Michael Parkinson as his 'Dignity Ambassador' to promote the provision of greater dignity in the care of the elderly.
Perhaps Parky will visit care homes and tell the residents how much Gordon the Moron cares about them, as they wait in some discomfort to have their incontinence pads changed.
As we reclined in our old deckchairs in the shade of Nosher's equally old shed one lunchtime, we discussed what happens in the Dis-United Kingdom when you get old.
'You get ignored' said Nosher, and at his age he should know. He took another sip of his excellent parsnip wine as consolation. I decided to reverse the effect.
'Tha annual Spotlight report from Help the Aged' I anounced 'reveals that over 1 in 5 of UK pensioners are living in poverty, and over 1 in 10 are living in severe poverty. The report - unsurprisingly - says that money worries can actually make the elderly ill. 22% of respondents said their dignity had not been respected in hospital. On the other hand, more pensioners than last year - 9% as opposed to 7%, actually think their lives have got better. It is clear that the increasing gap between rich and poor is now opening up amongst the elderly also. Which group do you fall into, Nosh?'
'I'm one of those just hanging on by virtue of being physically fit enough to run my allotment' Nosher replied 'and, of course, I'm one of the ignored. The only way you'll not be ignored when you're old is to be very rich, and have influential friends. But if you're old and ordinary, you just get ignored, or patronised by the likes of Gordon the Moron and Michael Parkinson, who's rich enough to know that he'll never get put in a care home, so he can afford to jolly the rest of us along.'
'But what about the dignity of the elderly?' I asked 'surely dignity is that quality of a person who knows his or her own true worth? It's an internal state. It's something that can be destroyed by disrespect, but I'm not convinced you can award dignity in itself to someone - that's a product of their own mind-set.'
Nosher contemplated his wineglass for a moment.
'I guess you can promote dignity' he responded 'by encouraging the elderly not to forget their intrinsic worth, and by allowing those who already possess a sense of dignity to retain it by giving them the respect and care they need so that they feel valued.'
'But all that will cost a lot of money' I said 'staff will need more time with each individual they care for, which means more staff will be needed, and better-trained staff too, for respecting the dignity of others is not an automatic quality that carers possess, although some undoubtedly do. Where is all this extra money going to come from?'
'Nowhere' Nosher was emphatic 'hiring Parky to go on about dignity for the elderly is just another stunt from Gordon the Moron. More money will be needed, of course - the demographics mean that's unavoidable - and that money will come from the taxpayer. But it won't be spent on dignity. It will be spent on providing fewer and fewer services to more and more recipients.'
'So if you're old and you want to retain your dignity, you have to protect it yourself - is that it?' I asked.
'Got it in one' replied Nosher.
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