Sir, – The Chief Medical Officer Prof Breda Smyth, in her open letter encourages the isolated older people of Ireland to “reconnect” (News, March 1st). We are praised for being “compliant” during the pandemic and states that many older people may still feel disconnected from others. She suggests that this is necessary to get the “feel-good” factor which is vital for our health.
Prof Smyth’s letter is clearly well-intentioned and seeks to address a social problem of isolation among some older people. However, the attitude that underpins the letter is concerning as it portrays a paternalistic view of older people. It smacks of a “doing to” culture whereby “the medical experts” know best as to what is good for older people. In doing so, it tends to reflect the Government and media discourses that were prevalent in relation to older people throughout the pandemic. Such messages were laced with negative terms such as “frailty”, “vulnerability”, “underlying health conditions” and “cocooning”.
Such paternalism depicts older people as a passive and dependent group. It ignores the individualities of older people and our capabilities to respond to the challenges of life. It also ignores how our lives are shaped and often constrained by huge structural factors such as location, gender, class, race and disability.
The advice offered to reconnect with “family and community” smacks of a traditional Ireland and excludes those who choose alternative lifestyles.
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The uncomfortable truth from the pandemic is that we do not sufficiently value older people in Ireland.
It was a shock to realise that the caring State we thought we had was seriously flawed. This was alarmingly evident in how we treated older people in care. The most shocking is that our response failed those who had made the greatest contribution to society.
Post-pandemic, perhaps we all need to reconnect, but more importantly we need to acknowledge and challenge the ageism that is endemic within Irish society. – Yours, etc,
MARTIN HOBAN,
Drimoleague,
Co Cork.