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Granny dumping

 
A elderly man found wandering and confused in Hereford bus station has no means of identification on him, his clothes are new bought from a Tesco's he appears to speak English but his speech is difficult to understand , all he can tell the police is his name and that he is not from round here. No one has reported him missing and no one comes forward when his  picture is published in the local paper. Doctors believe he has dementia and he is admitted to a care home. Social services spend months trying to find out who he is and where he has come from. Then someone on social media recognises the name they believe the went to school with him in the USA! As unlikely as this seems it turns out to be true. Further investigation turns up relatives in the USA what's more these relatives recently visited England! 

Granny-dumping is a recognised problem in the USA where families unable to meet the care costs of looking after a severely demented elderly relative simply take them to a large Hospital in a nearby city and abandon them. 

Is this a true story or another example of " false news" a story made up about foreigners exploiting our NHS or intended to scare us into thinking that the under funding of health and social care in this country could in the near future result in," Granny Dumping".

The story appeared not on FaceBook but in the Guardian ( Elderly American with dementia 'granny-dumped in the Uk by family' 31/01/17 ).

Is it so hard to believe that a family unable to meet care costs would abandon an elderly relative?
In the same edition of the Guardian there is an article quoting the chair of the Local Government Association Izzi Seccombe stating that the funding gap for adult social care will mean that services like helping elderly people get out of bed , dressed and washed will increasingly not be available resulting in more people being " trapped in hospital". No doubt the first to feel the impact will be the families who care for an elderly realities who will have what little help they receive further reduced or removed. At which point "granny dumping" may be an expression we become all to familiar with.
 
Blair McPherson former director of community services www.blairmcpherson.co.uk

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"No doubt the first to feel the impact will be the families who care for an elderly realities who will have what little help they receive further reduced or removed." Elderly relative?
Thanks,yes "relative".