Talking About Being Old and in Care (3 Parts)

Synopsis

In a series of three programmes Malcolm Brown interviews elderly residents from homes in the Strathclyde region.
1: Three interviews with elderly women and two with men. Each has come into care within the past two years and each is at a different point in adjustment to life in care, ranging from a peaceful acceptance to sadness, depression and a preference for death. A 95-year-old woman expresses her difficulty with group living after many years of living alone, while a relatively young woman who was disabled by a cerebral haemorrhage talks about the solace of life in care compared to her life with a violent husband. Death of a spouse is a common feature with mixed feelings expressed toward the relatives who were unwilling or unable to look after them at home.
2: Three interviews with elderly women and 2 with elderly men. Four have come into care within the past 5 years while one lady, whose speech is very restricted following a stroke, has lived in the unit for 14 years. Three of the interviewees have lost contact with their adult children, with little understanding of the reason why. Reinforces the idea that most families need help to resolve their feelings when a member is admitted to a residential unit, as a common way of handling pain and guilt is to avoid the painful situation. Three of the residents interviewed are stroke victims and so the tape gives examples of the problems experienced in communication with someone with a speech difficulty.
3: Four interviews with elderly women and one with a man. Three have recently come to live in care and thus demonstrate the difficulties of adjustment. Two of the interviews demonstrate the problems of memory loss in old age. They are not disorientated or confused and are honest about their impairment. Each of the residents has close links with family and/or friends which has made a positive contribution to their mental health and each expresses the difficulty of living with confused residents who are unable to have a conversation. The losses demonstrated are mainly loss of faculties and independence; loss of home and possessions and for those with family living abroad limited family contact. Each has experienced the loss of a spouse but demonstrate good adjustment at this stage.

Language

English

Country

Great Britain

Medium

Video; Videocassette. Standard formats. col. 41, 38, 38 min.

Year of production

1986

Availability

Hire
Sale

Documentation

Guidance notes for course directors accompany the tape.

Uses

Social workers, health workers.

Subjects

Social welfare

Keywords

care; counselling; old people; residential homes

Credits

Producer

Malcolm J Brown

Production Company

Name

Queen’s University of Belfast

Distributor

Name

Concord Media

Email

sales@concordmedia.org.uk

Web

http://www.concordmedia.org.uk/ External site opens in new window

Phone

01473 726 012

Address

Rosehill Centre
22 Hines Road
Ipswich
IP3 9BG

Notes

A long-established, not-for-profit organisation with a large collection DVDs, specialising in the sectors of general and mental health, child care, race relations, war and peace, addictions, the third world, ecology, civil rights, personal relationships, educational issues, and social work training. Concord also handles titles made for the Graves Medical Audio-visual Library. Sale on DVD. Formerly known as Concord Video and Film Council. In 2014 Concord began to offer selected films as Video on Demand, via Vimeo.