MPS and peers have condemned abuse of elderly people and want some carers prosecuted.
A human rights committee said that while child abuse was a priority, abuse of older people remained `hidden'.
The committee said: "Vulnerable,older people who often depend on their abusers to provide them with care.
"Not only is it a betrayal of trust, it would also in certain circumstances amount to a criminal offence."
About 700,000 people suffer dementia and with an ageing population the numbers are set to rise steeply.
Estimates say the cost to the NHS is £3.3bn a year although the overall economic burden could be as much as £14.3bn.
The committee said: "A third of people with dementia live in care homes, two thirds of care home residents have some form of dementia and approximately a quarter of hospital beds are used by people with dementia."
They gave dramatic examples of abuse in care homes including an 89-year-old woman who had pressure sores and dehydration.
The committee said they were concerned about lack of hygiene, problems with personal care including people being left in their own waste, rough handling by staff when changing patients' clothes, and hearing and visual problems not being addressed.
The committee said: "It is now a criminal offence for a person providing care to someone who lacks capacity to ill-treat or wilfully neglect them.
"A similar offence exists for anyone being treated for mental disorder in a hospital, nursing home, independent hospital or care home."
In one case Ken Mack, from Wrexham, contacted Health Minister Ivan Lewis, MP for Bury South, to complain his disabled mother-in-law had been `cruelly evicted' from her first care home because she could not afford it.
Petition
Mr Lewis presented a joint petition to the government signed by former minister for the disabled Lord Morris of Manchester and 26,500 peope, calling for a bill of rights for all residents in care homes.
Last year, Mr Lewis launched the first national `dignity in care' campaign aimed at creating a system where there was zero tolerance of abuse and disrespect of older people.
He said: "We want a situation where people are as outraged by the abuse of parents and grandparents as they are at the abuse of children."
The committee said that despite the campaign there were still mixed sex wards, sensitive confidential medical advice being given to a patient which could be overheard, and neglect of proper hygiene care, including patients not being allowed to use the toilet in private.
It said they were pleased of assurances that nobody should be discharged from hospital without proper arrangements being put in place for their care.
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ace, manchester (15/08/2007 at 14:09)
LookingForLogic, Stockport (17/08/2007 at 02:15)
ace, manchester (17/08/2007 at 15:34)
kailash, Stalybridge (19/08/2007 at 13:09)
NHS's number one priority. Are they? No. Middle England's middle class
voters who need their hernia done or their vascular risk unnecessarily
assessed are.Social services seem to concentrate far too much on bureaucracy about
fire regulations and medicine regulations than the actual care given
to the residents. Also the regulatory body seems to satisfy itself
with a torrent of little forms to GPs asking inane and irrelevant
questions.
This seems to be about two things:
* Money
* the culture of disrespect within the pubic services (NHS and SS) -
this applies to staff and patients / clients and is widespread.Society needs deep intrspection,Care of the elderly is the mirror of the society and we are failing miserably.
El Mac, Manchester (19/08/2007 at 16:49)
Initially commencing with the widespread closure of secure accommodation to be replaced by the "Care in The Community" initiative (except that the community doesn't care) followed by the systemic failure of local government Social Services (Across the entire Care Spectrum) and the closure of regulated Council run Elderly and Secure Accommodation units, Home Help services, this report comes as no surprise.
Our society, technologically advanced and one of the richest in the western hemisphere is one of the most selfish in history.
The root cause of our current predicament is down to the people and the mentality that age is something that happens as you get older - This is despite the fact that we're all rapidly getting older and will one day need the very services that are being cut left, right and centre.
Care services affecting the Elderly, Disabled or Mentally challenged are the easiest targets, their voice of protest is minimal, and, as it all revolves around cash, it's the easiest target to hit. Within Manchester, neighboring boroughs and across the UK campaigns have failed to halt the decline of service provision - Private agencies have sprung up to deliver home care, residential and palliative care, this of course is purely cost driven, and the old adage of 'You get what you pay for' is apt.
Unless there is a wide scale mobilization of people to say that enough is enough, nothing will change. It may be 'glamourous' to take part in the Climate camp and other initiatives, but, action needs to be directed both locally and nationally, we need to reverse the decline, and start to address the issues to make a society that can truly take pride in its accomplishments and endeavors, but, I'm afraid that this may be a pipe dream.