General Chat

You're quite right Gwynne. 'The money has to come from somewhere'. What are taxes for then?

Diana - I totally agree with you. It's up to the state. I remember my father paid into a pension fund years ago when he could ill afford it but when he retired he was just over the limit for any government help. The people next door spent as they got it and the state paid even to have their windows cleaned!! What happened to 'from cradle to grave'?? Having to sell your home is being taxed twice and is wrong.

Totally agree with you Diana, well said. M.

I think you've summarised it well, Len. :-(

I'm sorry as this may offend!! My father has paid his dues to the NHS in tax and NI all his life, so why the bl**dy hell should he have to finance a care home if it comes to that? I'd rather he spent every penny he has tied up in his property (that he doesn't live in anymore but my mother does) so that he can enjoy whats left of his everyday life before he sits in a chair and vegitates!! I don't give a monkeys if he dies penniless as my father is more use to me than money!! But I do care if he dies having paid the state twice for what is his natural RIGHT!!

I recorded the programme but not watched it yet. My mum is 79 and lives alone. She worked for most of her married life but has been a widow since 1977. She is very lonely and isolated as she has no relatives near her. Just before christmas I managed to visit her and she was very poorly Not seen her like that for ages. She phoned for a doctor to visit her at home but they wouldn't. She was told to phone next day for appointment. (why she couldnt have an appointment made over the phone then I dont know). So she phoned next day and no appointments ring back tomorrow. She left it for a few days and was still very ill so she called a taxi and the driver had to help her out of the house because she was so ill. She managed to ge into the surgery but was not allowed to see the Dr. She was told to go home and wait for the Dr to phone. He phoned very late on in the afternoon and she described her symptoms and was told it is just a bug keep drinking fluids and flush it through. I am disgusted that she never got to see a Dr. Anyway she has said that she will not go into a home. I know they all say that. But surely it would be better to sell her house and ours and get a place where she can move in with us. Although I dont know how the benefits and taxes work if we did that. If anybody knows the pros and cons financially I would be interested.

Just to add a little to this debate,If the NHS.were to collect all the money owed to it by people coming into our Country,using its servicesThen doing a runner and not paying,maybe they would not be so short of money,as they are always saying.perhaps they should adopt the American Way.and get hold of their Credit Card or some other mode of payment before treatment begins. Hal.

I disagree with Guinevere. Your parents bought it and it should be theirs to do with as they like. You don't have to inherit if you don't want to. Give them some say on their own property - why on earth should their savings ie their home, go to the state when they've paid their taxes?? And have you ever seen one of these homes? All sitting there in high back chairs looking totally lost. It's all very well when you're younger thinking that a home is the answer but - put yourself in their situation. You may feel differently. I've only been in hospital and am not yet ready for a 'home' , hopefully for a very long time, but the staff however kind SHOUT as though you hadn't a brain and talk to you as though you were a child. No thank you. I'd rather muddle on as long as I could than go into one of those 'care' (?) homes when the time comes.

I agree to a degree with pat as I would want my parents to be comfortable rather than inherit their property but as they BOTH paid tax all their lives I don't see why they are penalised for owning their own home!! It doesn't pay to look after your old age anymore as somewhere along the line the government will get it!! :O(

I didn't see the programme but I know that the fees for residential care are very high. I often wonder how Care Home Providers can justify them. I know they have overheads etc but a Home with, say, 20 residents could easily be pulling in £7,000 per WEEK. It's not as if the staff are well paid either.

I thought that national insurance went towards people's NHS care, if not what is that paid for? M.

Len,I agree Its Disgusting, but our country is not a fair place to live , I really think that the less you give in todays society the more you get,its a haven for scroungers!!

I think the point is that it is not a level playing field. I won't have the problem as I lost everything in the crash early 90s, so if I have to go into a home it's just my taxes that will go towards the cost. BUT, I have paid tax & national insurance all my life, whereas all these people coming into the country now have paid nothing towards the cost of care. People who have been more prudent than me have also paid tax & insurance & then they have to pay again. I just don't think it is fair that some pay nothing, some pay once & others have to pay twice. Vivienne

yeh but if you come into the country new youll be given home and all nessesities len, cos its those pensioners taxes that pay for it, its a shame these elderly have to pay again and loose their homes

Len I agree with all you say and what about saving for a rainy day as we were encouraged to do, then dss take all that into account and say you are not entitled to any of the perks only those that didnt save get it I could go on but thats enough Howard

my brother is now the proud owner of my mum and dads house.they live there rent free.ways round Annie

but there's no choice but to buy!! council houses are fast being sold off and youngsters have to buy to have a home!! My grandmother lived in a rented home, she died in a home in 1980, but because she had savings she had to pay to live there!! every penny she had was taken!! Helen

I agree of course, but there are advantages in owning your own house such as having the freedom to live where you want, and doing what you like in it! Allie

Len I agree that its appalling!! No incentive to buy now is there? xx

I was absolutely disgusted when I saw the programme about OAP's having to sell their homes to pay for care. Having gone without to buy a home, encouraged by various governments over the year's the elderly are now forced to sell their homes to pay for care, there's something wtrong with the system. People who have lived in council properties lose nothing, and other's who have come into the country in recent years and now living in council homes wont have to pay anything towards care, how unfair is that, this is just another form of tax,comments please. Len