Jump to content

Graveyard for south folk


Styles
 Share

Recommended Posts

  • Replies 49
  • Created
  • Last Reply

Top Posters In This Topic

"Its not like the people move them up to stay with them, in most cases they just plonk them in a home."

Could you please give examples of this happening?

The Orcadians that were moved to the mainland were they true Orcadians or soothmoothers?

Shoormal, your post was correct and on the ball, even the leapfrogging part.

Unfortunately human nature has deteriorated with civilisation.

We recently had a case up here of a foreign national, who had relatives in Shetland, being allowed to stay here. The permission to stay was swayed by public opinion and rightly so.

If the person had been an older person would the public opinion have been different?

Of course not.

As for the migration of younger folk, it has been a problem for thousands of years. The dream of a better life brought people to Shetland in the first place and the same dream drives our young people away today.

Regards.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Well, I was born in Shetland, my folks came here in the early 70s and my last remaining grandparent moved up here some years ago in his late 80s. He sold his house and, having suffered several strokes, he is now unable to walk or do practically anything for himself.

 

As is quite common he's still sharp as a tack on the inside, but his body is failing to such an extent that he can't cope without some form of trained assistance. Having been prudent most of his life he was able to put aside enough money for his retirement. Originally he was paying about £450 a week out of his own pocket for care at Lerwick's Tain House. However, due to council cuts he is soon to be paying double that, an outlay of some £60,000 a year. Needless to say his 'provision' for his retirement will soon be exhausted.

 

I have it on good authority that he could receive 24-hour, round the clock specialised care for significantly cheaper down south. However, there is a human factor that you're failing to address here - A dying elderly person wants to be near their family and vice versa. In Tain house he's able to get daily family visits, something that's just not possible outside Shetland.

 

Now, to some extent I can understand a negative response to 'sooth-moothers' coming in to claim certain jobs, namely specialised ones for which there are plenty of local candidates who know the place, the culture and who wouldn't incur hefty relocation expenses (I've recently been on the receiving end of such an experience).

 

However, I'd be very surprised if there's been some sort of mass migration by incomer's elderly parents, all desperate to get on the 'superior healthcare' bandwagon. The logistics alone would put off most people. Don't get me wrong - the care the old fella pays for is great and the staff are really helpful, but that's certainly not the reason my grandfather is there. It's about being close to your nearest and dearest before you pass away. To deny someone that because of where they are from is not, in my opinion, a path any civilised society should seek to follow.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I think it's even more shocking the number of young families who move up here bringing young children to take advantage of the schools and nurseries :shock: Good job the free music lessons have stopped or we might have even more young folk to keep them going :!:

 

Worse still are the people who bring valuable skills with them, shocking :roll:

 

from a quick summation of your posts on here im not sure if your sarcasm is well placed

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Oh well, I can live with that. Glad you see it as the sarcastic comment it is.

 

I'd say it's well placed in a thread which took a turn for Royston Vasey along with many other threads on here.

 

BTW You been on holiday for 10 days Turningright? Hope you had a good time. Odd you should only pick up on my comment...

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Having been prudent most of his life he was able to put aside enough money for his retirement. Originally he was paying about £450 a week out of his own pocket for care at Lerwick's Tain House. However, due to council cuts he is soon to be paying double that, an outlay of some £60,000 a year. Needless to say his 'provision' for his retirement will soon be exhausted.

This is something that confuses me. It's going to cost him £60,000 a year to stay in a cre home, but for this much money surely it would be possible for elderly people to stay at home and personally employ a carer (two or three carers even). Am I missing something?

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Something I wrote a while ago on another thread:

I get the feeling that there is a general initial openness towards incomers, but also a certain cynicism towards those who give-off a "Shetland is heaven, pity about the locals" kind of attitude. It is also quite common to hear some irritation expressed towards those middle aged incomers who, after a couple of years, bring their aging parents to Shetland in order to have them better looked after in the care homes. As the actual practice is really quite kind and understandable, it seems to me that the solution would be to encourage the development of a care home mini-industry in the isles. The demand is bound to increase.

 

Rather than fight the inevitable, better to embrace the trend and cater for what would be an entirely positive economic development.

 

I would favour building such developments in areas with beautiful views, in a modest and attractive manner. Old people in care homes and hospitals really love to look out and discuss the weather. Indeed I think accessible wintergardens with nice views would enhance their quality of life remarkably.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

This is something that confuses me. It's going to cost him £60,000 a year to stay in a cre home, but for this much money surely it would be possible for elderly people to stay at home and personally employ a carer (two or three carers even). Am I missing something?

 

Indeed, the original fee was to be half this, so selling his house and combining this with pension /savings etc enabled him to move up and spend his remaining years close to family.

 

Alas, with the house now sold and the yearly fee now doubled there is no going back. Naturally I'm reticent to publicly go into to much detail regarding his arrangements, but he's by no means a rich man. Suffice to say he's now in the strange catch-22 situation of having to pay an exorbitant amount for care simply because he's worked and saved all his life, whereas others who, for example, made no provision for their declining years, stay in the same place for free - Shetlander or otherwise.

 

Rest assured the family has looked into alternatives, but at such a late stage in life more upheaval is not something we'd wish on him.

 

Anyway, perhaps I shouldn't have personalized the issue - While my grandfather's situation is not unique it does detract from the central point that I was making, which is that I think people move to be closer to their loved ones and not because they're trying short-change locals.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Guest Anonymous

Anyway, perhaps I shouldn't have personalized the issue - While my grandfather's situation is not unique it does detract from the central point that I was making, which is that I think people move to be closer to their loved ones and not because they're trying short-change locals.

 

Excellent point Ally, and well put.

Hope your grandfather enjoys many years of daily family visits. Family is what's important.

:D

Link to comment
Share on other sites

EM, just gave me an idea.

"I get the feeling that there is a general initial openness towards incomers, but also a certain cynicism towards those who give-off a "Shetland is heaven, pity about the locals" kind of attitude. It is also quite common to hear some irritation expressed towards those middle aged incomers who, after a couple of years, bring their aging parents to Shetland in order to have them better looked after in the care homes. As the actual practice is really quite kind and understandable, it seems to me that the solution would be to encourage the development of a care home mini-industry in the isles. The demand is bound to increase."

We have, at the moment troops that are being injured in our wars, lost limbs etc. While we don't have the expertise for primary care, we do have the type of area to give them after care, peace, jobs and a relatively crime free life style.

They are young and fit people and could be of benefit to Shetland.

I do not or hope that we don't need a facility just for injured people but one on the lines that EM wrote, a viable care home for folks that need it.

Monies should be possible from numerous sources, defence, NHS etc.

Above all independence from the SIC.

Regards.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

This is something that confuses me. It's going to cost him £60,000 a year to stay in a cre home, but for this much money surely it would be possible for elderly people to stay at home and personally employ a carer (two or three carers even). Am I missing something?

 

You're describing the Direct Payments (DP) scheme that was created to allow people to do exactly that. I can't remember which service group it was created for, but in theory it could apply to anyone. The idea behind it was that you could individualise the service to meet the need. The drawback is that you then become the employer - and along with that you get all the responsibility for tax, national insurance, health and safety, holiday pay etc. Most people are put off by that. In some areas people receiving DP got together as a group and had someone responsible for managing all the wages etc, but it's still something that needs a lot of organising.

 

Bresail mentioned the need for care for younger people - there is also a need for appropriate facilities for people with disabilities and people who need a hospice. Everyone needs help sometime, it would be good to know that the help you need is available in your community for when you need it, but it is dependant on having people to staff it. The staff in any place make the difference between something that is merely competent at providing the resources and something that is a place people enjoy staying in.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.

Guest
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Paste as plain text instead

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.

Loading...
 Share


×
×
  • Create New...