Nappies when you're a baby, nappies when you're old (Or sit in your shit until you die!)

Elaine McDonald is probably not a name that you are aware of. Slightly Scottish, could be a long lost relative of the infamous fast food chain. Well no Elaine McDonald is, or rather was, a Prima Ballerina and it is a name that you should become entirely familiar with because what has happened to her has a direct effect upon you.

Elaine yesterday lost an appeal in the Supreme Court to have her funding reinstated for a night carer. Kensington and Chelsea Council won the right to force her to wear incontinence pads if she wishes to avoid urinating or defecating in her bed. Now for some people these pads are a must but Elaine is perfectly in control of her excretory functions she just needs help to get to the toilet and therefor needs a night carer. Because Elaine wishes to remain independent and not become institutionalised it means that someone needs to be there during the night and up to recently the bill was footed by the Council to the tune of £22000 per annum.

No more of that though because in a majority ruling the Supreme Court stated that Kensington and Chelsea Council are well within their right to remove the funding. There was only one dissenting voice, Lady Hale, (Baroness Hale of Richmond ) who said:

"We are,I still believe, a civilised society. I would have allowed this appeal. In the United Kingdom we do not oblige people who are in control of their bodily functions to behave as if they cannot do so ..."

This is a slippy slope we find ourselves upon. It basically allows social workers the ability to remove basic human rights such as independence by limiting a person to be fully independent. It is basically a retrograde step towards institutionalisation of the sick or infirm. And this is not a good thing!

And it is highly relevant in respect of what I have been saying about Wiltshire Council recently. I have now come across the case where a woman with breast cancer is not being told about her condition by her doctors on what can only be the advice of social workers. All the carers who care for this lady are upset about this but they are powerless to act because if they do so they risk losing their jobs and the company in question the contract. Social workers and her doctors should be telling her what is happening but the cynic in me says that the reason they are not is because it is cheaper to leave her at home doused up on painkillers rather than come up with a better treatment plan.

And how long now before councils start withdrawing care for people based on this ruling? I give it about 5 minutes. I know one recently qualified social worker who would do this with glee almost yet recently when hospitalised she could do nothing but moan about the standard of care.Her husband's response to it was privatise the NHS. When will people realise that it is our duty as a society to look after those who cannot look after themselves. And if we start putting everything out to the cheapest bidder we might as well go back to the Victorian age where it was cheapest to lock people out of sight.

Sure I accept this all costs money but here's the sad thing:

Councils happily spend money on projects that do not need doing such as resurfacing roads in good condition so that they can fulfill their budgets yet at the same time cut back on vital services because they are too expensive. Come on people if this is not an abuse of power I do not know what is!