Unit 9

Caring for the Elderly

I. Introducing the topic. Before you read, answer the following questions:
Whos looking after your grandparents?
Do they still live at home, or are they in an old peoples home? Or maybe they live with you and
your parents?
What happens to old people in your country when they cant look after themselves in their own
houses, or they become mentally confused?
II.1 Read the introductory paragraph and brochure for The Beeches, an old peoples home in the UK.
Are the following sentences true or false?
1. The Beeches is a modern building.
2. Its got twelve bedrooms.
3. Residents families can visit when they want.
4. All the rooms have a private toilet.
5. Residents can bring their own furniture and pictures when they arrive.
6. Residents must eat in the dining room.
7. Residents have the opportunity to go outside of the home.
8. Residents are taken to a church every week.
The UK, like many European countries, has an ageing population. At the start of new millennium, 18% of
the British population was aged over 60. As a result, the UK has a booming care home industry, with
approximately a quarter of a million old people currently resident in 13,000 different institutions where they
receive varying degrees of nursing care.
The Beeches Nursing Home
The Beeches is a beautiful Victorian house converted into a 25-bed nursing home. Nursing care is
provided by a professional team, but we aim to provide a relaxed, intimate atmosphere. There are no
restrictions on visiting hours relatives and friends are always welcome.
All rooms have their own television and telephone, and 12 of the rooms have en-suite toilets.
Residents are encouraged to personalise their rooms with their own furniture and pictures. We have two
comfortable lounges and a large dining room that overlooks the garden. Meals can also be taken in the
residents rooms if preferred.
We believe that elderly people benefit from social interaction and mental stimulation. We therefore
offer a full programme of activities, crafts and hobbies to suit our residents. There are also regular trips to
local shops and places of interest and a local vicar comes to the home to give a church service once a week.
II.2 What general impression does the brochure give of life in a nursing home?
Do you think that it gives a realistic picture?
What advantages and disadvantages could there be in living in a care home?
III. Read about two teenagers experiences and the relationships between the generations:
Zoe Hayes, Eastbourne
My gran is 82 and she lives at Broadmead Nursing Home. Shes been there for about four years now. She
decided that she couldnt cope any longer living in a big house on her own. Mum used to go and visit her
about three times a week at home, but it was obvious that she needed more care, and mum had noticed that
she was starting to get confused mentally. She couldnt come and live with us, because we didnt have a
bedroom for her. Gran was very sad to leave her home shed lived there all her life and she had to sell
the house to pay for her care in Broadmead. We visit her there every Sunday. I dont mind going there. The
staff are very nice and theres quite a good atmosphere. Im sure it isnt the same as living in your own
house, though.

Daisy Won, Liverpool

My gran is 75 and she lives with us in our house. She came to stay with us when my grandad died, in 2001. I
had to move out of my bedroom and share a room with my sister instead, but its normal in our culture to
look after old people within the family. After all, Gran looked after my dad when he was a child, so its right
that he should look after her now. I dont agree with putting old people into care homes. I think thats just a
way to put them out of sight so you can forget about them. I visited a local nursing home with my school
recently, and I didnt like it at all. The old people there looked bored, and some of them never have any
visitors. I couldnt ever live in a place like that.
After having read about Zoes and Daisys experiences, decide which of them:
1. has the oldest grandmother?
2. has a grandmother who lives with her?
3. doesnt mind visiting a care home?
4. had a bad impression of a care home she visited?
5. shares a room with her sister?
6. thinks that putting old people into care homes is wrong?
IV. Discuss these questions:
1. Do you think that the number of old people in British care homes is high?
2. Why do you think that putting elderly family members into a care home is quite common in the UK?
3. Do special institutions for old people exist in your country? Are they used by many people? What
sort of reputation do they have?
4. Do you think it is wrong to put old people into care homes? Why (not)?
(taken from Elizabeth Sharman, Across Cultures, Edinburgh: Longman, 2005)
V.1 Skim read the following text ignoring the spaces. What does the author feel about the experience
of growing old and that of caring for the elderly?
It is a fact that as we grow old we may well become dependent because we see badly or because we lose
our mind or because we are physically handicapped or because we are seriously ill. And so often old people
say: "Why don't I die? I don't want to be a burden to others!"
(1)_______________________________ to be passed unanswered because it signifies hopelessness. If
you believe you are just a burden there is nothing else for you to do other than to kill yourself or let yourself
die. But you are never a burden if (and there are two 'ifs'). If people love you, you are not a burden.
(2)_________________________________ with tenderness, concern and intelligence at someone whom
they have loved all their lives; and though the word is perhaps ugly, the opportunity to repay all that this
person has done. A mother has looked after her children for years, now it is the privilege of the children to
look after their mother. But not unconditionally; and this is the second if !
(3)____________________________ who has become dependent on the tenderness, the love and
faithfulness of those around you, you must make it easy and possible for them. You must learn to accept
what you are given graciously and to make of the relationship of giving and taking a feast and not a calamity
for both of you. And you know, to be able to receive graciously, gratefully, joyfully is an art which we do not
always possess. (4) _________________________________________, but in longer periods, like ageing, it
must be learned and learned soon. We must know that this happens and to be at the receiving end can be a
devastating thing or an immensely rewarding one. (5)________________________"How shall I repay the
Lord for all His benefits?" And the answer is; "I shall accept the cup of salvation and sing His praises unto
His cause."
To accept the gift with joy, with open heartedness, with shining eyes, giving tenderness in response to
tenderness is not only the best, but the only way of making the giving as easy as possible. [] (6)
________________________________ when they are ageing, and a school we must go through ourselves as
soon as possible, because we all depend on one another's love, whether we are children, grown up people,
married, single or old. (Metropolitan Anthony of Sourozh, The spirituality of old age,
http://web.me.com/masarchive/texts/1985-00-00-0-E-E-T-EM05-003SpiritualityOfAgeing.html )

V.2 Now complete the extract by choosing the best phrases from A-F to fill spaces 1-6.
A. One of the Psalms says
B. They have the joy and privilege of looking
C. If you are an elderly person
D. It is a schooling we must give to other people
E. That is something we should never allow
F. Even in short illnesses people are not always capable of doing it