It's easy to get caught up in wishing to avoid spending tax money on elderly care when you're not elderly yourself, but many naysayers would do well to remember that they, too, will grow old some day.
Elderly care has become an explosive issue in today's politics, with political parties all claiming to have come up with an effective solution for the problem - the severe lack of adequate care available to elderly people who need it.
What many of these solutions seem to have lost sight of, however, is the actual problem at hand; instead focussing on the money and how to attempt to pay for the resources the elderly population needs.
In 2009, a Bill was announced that proposed guaranteed free personal care for 280,000 people who could be described as having the "highest needs", such as those suffering from Parkinson's disease or severe Alzheimer's. While this would be a good step forward - the Bill would protect the savings of around 166,000 people who already receive free care and offer more independence to a further 130,000 who are entering care homes for the first time - it's difficult to ignore that the Bill has left out an enormous portion of the UK's elderly population.
Not only were many people seemingly overlooked, but the Bill neglected to mention just how city councils would be expected to cough up the extra £250m per year needed to fund such a venture.
Clearly, the pathway to later life care is a difficult one - but it is essential that the needs of the elderly are met. After all, we are attempting to set down some foundations with regards to what will happen to us when we become elderly too, meaning that finding a solution to the problem is something that will not only benefit others. Everybody grows old and it's very possible that people who oppose spending cash on improving elderly care could end up being the ones who need it the most a few years down the line.
The government's pledge will certainly go a long way towards providing better care for many people, however, and it is a move that is heading in the right direction and has room for expansion, but it's not enough. For whatever reasons that people are arguing against improving elderly care, it is a necessary venture even if only undertaken to protect ourselves when we grow old and need care.
While this is still uncertain, however, it is likely that this year many people will stay glued to ?topic=Central government" government news to keep up with the Bill's progress.
