Unlike in Western countries like Australia, traditional Asian cultures place a heavy emphasis on filial piety — the expectation children will support their parents in old age. Historically, filial piety played an important role when families were large, pension schemes unavailable and life expectancy was around 50 years old. Today, however, families in east and […]
It is estimated that the number of people who will be in the 60+ age group will reach 2 billion by 2050. The resulting demographic imbalance that this will create will have a major impact not just on economic growth but on all areas of public and private health care. Many of these issues have […]
Despite extreme social liberalisation across the West in recent years, assisted suicide remains illegal in most of the world, including much of Europe. According to euthanasiadebate.org, assisted suicide and euthanasia are illegal in 92% of voting jurisdictions around the world to date. In fact, Assisted Suicide and euthanasia bills have been defeated around the world […]
“Given there is already huge unmet need for formal care in this country, it is staggering to think about the sky-high level of demand that will be placed on our care system and unpaid carers in the next 25 years if urgent action isn’t taken by the Government.” The United Kingdom is worryingly unprepared for […]
High death tolls have been one of great scandals of the Covid 19 pandemic. By May, a third (46,400) of all coronavirus deaths in the United States were among nursing/care home residents and workers. In New York state the toll was increased by thousands of recovering Covid cases being released from hospitals to nursing homes. In Britain, […]
The world is facing an unprecedented crisis and a population crash which scientists say will require a re-organisation of societies, according to a new study. It’s forecasted that 23 countries will see their populations shrink by more than 50% including Spain, Italy and Japan – with massive negative knock-on effects for economic growth, jobs and […]
Many nursing home residents with breathing difficulties were given morphine instead of oxygen Disturbing figures are coming from Sweden about the number of Covid-19 deaths amongst the elderly. According to an article in the Wall Street Journal, half of the people who died in Sweden were residents of nursing homes. Sweden’s approach to the […]
I have written elsewhere about how the Covid-19 pandemic has resulted in dangerous and unethical responses like ventilator rationing, unilateral DNRs, and some states ordering nursing homes and other long-term care facilities to accept coronavirus patients discharged from hospitals. But the Covid-19 crisis has also spawned new ideas such as the American Clinicians Academy On Medical Aid in Dying’s policy […]
Sorry to disappoint, but today will feature news not of the Wuflu variety. Instead, I wanted to bring you another update in Japan’s steady population decline. Perhaps it is no surprise, but for the ninth year running the Japanese population has declined. According to the Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications, at the beginning of October last year […]
The guidelines appear to ignore the Government’s Ethical Framework for Decision Making in a Pandemic, which warn hospitals not to exclude elderly people from treatment on the basis of age.
The Health Information and Quality Authority (Hiqa) has confirmed that almost one-third of nursing homes in Ireland have the Cornavirus, with clusters of Covid-19 now in 155 of the residential care facilities. Professor Jack Lambert, who specialises in infectious diseases at the Mater hospital, has warned that the spread of the virus in nursing homes is “a catastrophe […]
A new study has shown that Irish nursing homes appear to be hit worse by Covid-19 than some other European countries. The international study by Adelina Comas-Herrera and Joseba Zalakain was published by the International Long Term Care Policy Network and examined mortality in care home residents during the coronavirus crisis. In looking at in […]