Dear Sir,

It might be sobering to take note of how much care we take care of the people who oppose our country’s rules and regulations and find themselves incarcerated, in comparison with our elderly, whom we sometimes take for granted and neglect. Perhaps they should swap places?

At Westgate Correctional Facility, our elderly would:

n Have daily showers and free time, outside walks, medicine, and regular dentist and doctors visits;

n They would receive payment instead of paying for housing;

n 24-hour video surveillance so that in the case of an emergency, they would be immediately attended to;

n They would have new bed linen twice a week and their clothes washed and ironed on a regular basis;

n They would get visits every 20 minutes from the guard and their meals, three square and catering to dietary restrictions, bought to their rooms;

n They have a special room to greet their families when they come and visit;

n They would have access to a library, gym, physical and mental therapy and further education, television, movies, radio and phone calls;

n Legal advice.

And all of this for free, or at no cost to them.

At many seniors’ homes, the prisoners would:

n Get lukewarm or cold meals;

n Often be left alone with little surveillance;

n One bath a week;

n Small room.

And all of this for a ridiculous fee, and any additional medical care would be billed separately.

This is in no way directed at our caregivers, but to raise awareness of the issues that we have with our elderly in a “modern society”, how they are treated and how we prioritise the allocation of funds.

Maybe we all need to stand up for the people that bought us into this world, and begin taking care of them.

MB, Warwick