Dear Friends,
I guess this kind
of stuff is a bit close to my heart after all my Sister and I went through with
my Dad's nursing home when they didn't take care of him properly and we had to
fight to get proper care. We even had to file 'Access to Information requests'
to try and get him proper care! We finally got Dad some better care but, it sure
did take years of fighting on our part. I think that the Medical Establishment
may have a few stereotypes regarding Our Elders! I think that some of our Elders
are dying prematurely because of some of the present views of our medical
system. They really push pretty hard on Families to get consent to “Do Not
Resuscitate” (DNR) orders in all situations when someone is elderly. Don’t they
realize that specific health situations of individual Elders can be
different from one another? Every situation is unique! That’s reality. So, why
does the health care system push so hard to get all families to consent to DNR
orders for their loved ones just because they are elderly? Guess it saves our
health care system lots of money. In some cases it may be warranted but, in all
cases?! It all kind of depends on the specific situation. Doesn’t it?
Discrimination can apply to much more
than just Race. We must protect our Elders too.
Let’s take a very close look at our
Health Care and Long Term Care systems. There is much to
consider!
The Canadian Charter of Rights and
Freedoms says this:
15. (1) Every
individual is equal before and under the law and has the right to
the equal protection and equal benefit of the law without
discrimination and, in particular, without discrimination based on
race, national or ethnic origin, colour, religion, sex,
age or mental or physical
disability