YANA PETTICREW explains what’s behind the strike and how the entire sector rests on super-exploiting an unorganised workforce
Lack of PPE for homecare staff is indicative of their lack of protection as workers
We may clap for the NHS, who are visible, but homecare workers are largely unseen and are not given the basic essentials they require for the challenging tasks they find inside the houses and lives of the vulnerable, writes RUTH HUNT
BILL KIDD MSP says increasing Britain’s nuclear arsenal at this time is dangerous and expensive folly
ROGER McKENZIE asks whether the US’s shift to targeting everyone at once will instil greater co-operation among rising powers
ANSELM ELDERGILL examines the government’s proposals to further limit the right of citizens to trial by jury
As we mark the anniversaries of the Hiroshima and Nagasaki bombings, JOHN WIGHT reflects on the enormity of the US decision to drop the atom bombs
DIANE ABBOTT explodes the anti-migrant myths perpetrated by cynical politicians and an irresponsible mass media
SINCE becoming seriously disabled with spinal cord injuries, my heroes are the armies of care workers who visit my home and the homes of many other people who are frailer than me, the elderly and those suffering from conditions like dementia or Parkinson’s Disease.
This low-paid and often undervalued body of staff helps the NHS by keeping individuals at home.
They often don’t know what they are going to face when opening the door, from changing someone who is wet, who will require a shower and their bedclothes changing and washing, to feeding, giving medication and shopping for clients or taking decisions as to whether it is still safe for the individual to remain at home.
More from this author
PROFESSOR LINDA GASK spoke to Ruth Hunt from her home in Orkney about her new book, Out of Her Mind: How We Are Failing Women’s Mental Health and What Must Change
RUTH F HUNT recommends a collection of short stories that transform poverty into something that’s often tender and profound
Could the overstretched system for mental health service users be supplemented by day centres? RUTH HUNT considers the options
As concerns are being expressed about police involvement in drawing up and delivering mental health crisis plans, RUTH HUNT looks at the troubling facts
