Rome, Italy, Feb 24, 2011 / 07:26 pm (CNA/EWTN News).- Stories of elder care nightmares in England and Wales are the result of a new generation of “scared people” that see the elderly, sick and handicapped as “cumbersome” and “useless,” according a Vatican consultant.
British authorities earlier this month reported that there are grave deficiencies in the country’s national health care system.
According to an analysis of death certificates of elder care home residents by the Office of National Statistics, 667 hospital patients died of dehydration between 2005 and 2009 in England and Wales.
The study also reported an increase in negligence-caused deaths due to malnutrition, blood poisoning and infection from bed sores over the past decade in the national health system.
The reports have prompted cries for reform in Britain and even caught the attention of the Vatican newspaper.
Dr. Carlo Bellieni, a regular commentator on bio-ethics and health care issues, wrote on Feb. 19 that the lack of care is indeed “scandalous ... but not unexpected.”
He point out other reports to the English Parliament in recent years on the poor treatment available to mental patients, whom he characterized as “invisible” to national health system.
“In short, whomever is quietest receives a proportionately inferior treatment,” Bellieni said.
Continue reading here: http://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/vatican-advisor-not-surprised-by-briti...
