The Coalition government must not lose sight of its “moral imperative” for
caring for society’s most vulnerable and those in need of assistance, the
Archbishop of Westminster has urged.
The Most Reverend Vincent Nichols said that Christian generosity towards
care of the elderly and the vulnerable “stands in contrast to some apparent
prevailing attitudes in our society”.
Archbishop Nichols, in his annual Mass for the Sick address, urges the
government to provide extra support for those who care for elderly relatives
amid claims they are being unfairly targeted by public sector cuts.
He said that the general public are “deeply anxious” about forthcoming cuts in
public expenditure that are “seeming to fall, too easily and too quickly, on
services due to the vulnerable and elderly”.
In his homily delivered at Westminster Cathedral last Saturday,
Archbishop Nichols instead urged that “special attention” should be
“given to the sick and vulnerable”.
“Many … are deeply anxious that forthcoming cuts in public expenditure are
seeming to fall, too easily and too quickly, on services due to the
vulnerable and elderly,” he will tell the congregation of people with a
variety of medical conditions, their carers, hospital chaplains and health
care workers.
“It seems to me that, even in economic terms, the support offered to families
who work hard to support their beloved parents in times of great need are
the last things which should be cut.”
“Indeed it makes more sense to help families to care for their elderly
wherever possible.”
His comments come just days after The Daily Telegraph disclosed
that thousands more elderly people will be forced to pay to stay in
care homes as a result of unannounced cuts in funding.
Ministers are effectively reducing the level of savings above which pensioners
must meet their own fees, an official Whitehall document showed.
Archbishop Nichols also said that many are “very disturbed” by recent
revelations of “shocking neglect of the elderly in some of our hospitals”.
He was referring to an official
report from the Health Service Ombudsman that condemned the National Health
Service for its inhumane treatment of elderly patients.
The report found the NHS was failing to meet “even the most basic standards of
care” for the over-65s.