Ɖ Obzrvr vy on cerhom deʈs biyñ an indîtmnt v ǎr ssayti
(Transcription of an article published in the Guardian on 3 May 2020)
Unls w proprli fund ǎr cerhomz n ɖer invałbl wrcrz, ɖ śemñ deʈtol wl cntiny t rîz
Súnde, 3 Me 2020
“I hv nvr ritn so mni deʈnoṭficeśnz in sć a śort tîm,” a cerhom manijr hu lost 23 rezidnts t c’roṇvîṛs in jst tū wīcs tld ɖ Gardịn last munʈ. “Evri membr v staf z lost. Wn de, a rezidnt wz wōcñ arnd wɖ a mîld tmpṛćr. I wnt hom, n ɖ nxt mornñ ɖe wr ded.”
Sm v ɖ hardist-t-hír storiz v ɖs pandemic hv cm fṛm Britn’z cerhomz; v sunz n dōtrz hu hv bn seṗretd fṛm ɖer peṛnts fr wīcs unebl t si ɖm bfr ɖe dî; v staf hu r peid a piṭns fr invałbl, n nǎ lîf-indenjrñ, wrc, struġlñ t cǒp wɖ ɖ scel v ɖ los.
At hiz frst presconfṛns sins hiz rtrn t wrc, Boris Jonsn seḷbretd ɖ fact ɖt Britn z “past ɖ pīc”. Bt ɖr wz litl mnśn v cerhomz, ẃr ɖ picćr z oltgɖr difṛnt. In Ñgḷnd, olmst a ʈrd hv rportd c’roṇvîṛs ǎtbrecs, n yesṭde ɖ prezidnt v ɖ Asośieśn v D’rectrz v Adult Sośl Srṿsz, Jemz Bŭłn, wornd ɖt ɖ sićueśn in cersrṿsz z gtñ wrs. Untl last wīc, cerhom deʈs wr nt īvn includd in ɖ ofiśl deʈtol, bt w lrnt on Tyzde ɖt in Ñgḷnd n Wêlz ɖr hd bn mor ɖn 4,300 deʈs in jst a fortnît, sjstñ ɖt īvn az ɖ hospitl deʈtol hz bn cnsistntli fōlñ, ɖ deʈret in cerhomz cntinyz t axeḷret.
Ɖ hlʈsecṛtri, Mát Hancoc, hz clemd ɖt cerhomz “hv bn a top prîoṛti rît fṛm ɖ start”. Bt ɖ guvnmnt actd far tù lêt t privnt a dîr sićueśn. An importnt part v its pandemic straṭji hz rîtli bn t “śīld” ɖoz most at risc fṛm ɖ vîṛs fṛm xpoźr t it. Bt ɖ big flw in ɖs plan z ɖt sm v ɖ most vulnṛbl r ɖoz oldr ppl n ppl wɖ a dis’biḷti hu rlî on pṛfeśnl cerrz fr intiṃt s’port wɖ evride tascs, in ɖer ǒn homz or in cerhomz. Ɖe simpli canot b śīldd fṛm ɖ ǎtsd wrld. N so it bcmz abṣlutli criticl ɖt ɖoz hu cer fr ɖm r ebl t axes ampl stocs v prsnl pṛtctiv iqipmnt n r reğlrli tstd. Uɖ̇wz, ɖ most vulnṛbl wl b amñ ɖoz pt most at risc v cntractñ ɖ vîṛs.
Proprli pṛtctñ ɖoz livñ in cerhomz n hu yz cersrṿsz in ɖer ǒn homz wd b a l’jisticl ćalinj fr eni guvnmnt. It wd hv rqîrd an imns amǎnt v fōrʈōt n planñ. Nyz ɖt nrsñhomz in ɖ YS n Ostreła r olso fesñ teṛbl deʈtolz śoz ɖt it z nt jst ɖ Britiś guvnmnt ɖt hz md mstecs. Bt ɖ xtrordnri ef̣ts ɖt wnt intu bildñ ɖ Nîtngel hospitlz r a tsṭmnt t ẃt cn b aćivd ẃn smʈñ z md a p’liticl prîoṛti. Ɖt levl v eṇji hz nt bn invstd in pṛtctñ oldr n dsebld ppl hu rlî on pṛfeśnl cersrṿsz.
Īvn az sm cerwrcrz hv md hyj sacṛfîsz t cīp ɖ ppl ɖe lc aftr sef, includñ muvñ intu cerhomz t pṛtct oldr rezidnts n ɖer ǒn ćildṛn, ɖe hv hd t strugl wɖ cmplitli inadiqt levlz v pṛtctiv iqipmnt. Fr wīcs, cerhomz hv strugld t axes tstñ, n ppl hv bn dsćarjd fṛm hospitlz intu cerhomz wɖt biyñ tstd frst. Manijrz rport graṗlñ wɖ dificlt dsiźnz, wɖ litl gîdns fṛm ɖ guvnmnt: d ɖe axpt ny rezidnts hu hv bn in hospitl ẃn ɖe hv nt bn tstd, ptnṣ́li ptñ uɖr rezidnts at risc; d ɖe let reḷtivz in t se gdbî t ɖer luvd wnz; hǎ d ɖe privnt wrcrz mcñ a duzn homvizits a de, hu me b esimṭmatic, spredñ ɖ vîṛs t ɖoz hu r most in denjr fṛm it, ẃn ɖr z’nt inuf pṛtctiv iqipmnt or tsts? N it cn b olmst imposbl fr cerwrcrz, hu r inverịbli lo peid n smtmz on inṣkr contracts, t spīc ǎt abt unsef cndiśnz: fîv cerrz hv rportidli lost ɖer jobz in ɖ past fortnît aftr spīcñ ǎt abt ɖer cnsrnz.
Wɖt rjnt ax́n bî ɖ guvnmnt, ɖr z a risc ɖt ɖ cerhom deʈtol cariz on growñ loñ aftr ɖ infx́nret hz dropt in ɖ cuntri at larj. Ɖ sem levl v imrjnsiplanñ ɖt wz dploid in rleśn t ɖ Nîtngel hospitlz nǎ nīdz t b invstd in avrtñ frɖr cerhom deʈs. Xtra imrjnsifundñ mst b imīɉtli d’rectd twdz ɖ sectr t hlp pṛvîdrz cǒp wɖ xtra costs, includñ ejnsistaf n ɖ cost v pṛtctiv iqipmnt.
Tù mni oldr ppl wl hv uņessṛli lost ɖer livz az a rzult v ɖs pandemic. It z a penfl rmîndr v ɖ ejizm ɖt runz ʈru ǎr ssayti, ɖ we in ẃć ɖ lîvz v ɖoz hu nīd s’port t b ebl t liv r asymd t cǎnt fr a lot les. Fundñ fr sośl cer hz dclînd in ɖ past 10 yirz, īvn az dmand fr cer hz rizn az a rzult v an ejñ popyleśn. Ɖ rzult z ɖt evri de an esṭmetd 1.5 miłn oldr ppl – wn in sevn ovr-65z – g wɖt ɖ hlp ɖe nīd wɖ tascs sć az wośñ, dresñ n ītñ. Mnẃl, tù mni cerwrcrz r nt īvn peid ɖ minimm wej fr scild wrc ɖt cn b imośṇli n fizicli tuf, bt ptnṣ́li so rwordñ, n prîṿt-eqti fînans hz fludd intu Britn’z larjist cerhom ćenz, lodñ ɖm p wɖ unsstenbl levlz v dét az prîṿt fnansịrz sīc t xtract sgnificnt rtrnz fṛm taxpeyr-fundd cer.
So it z śocñ, bt hardli s’prîzñ, ɖt ǎr oldr muɖrz n faɖrz, ānts n unclz, granpeṛnts n frendz hv bn left vulnṛbl t ɖ wrst ifcts v ɖs pandemic. It’s ɖ inevitbl product v livñ in a ssayti ɖt gts its aproć t ejñ so roñ, ẃr ɖoz hu rlî on pṛfeśnl cer r smhǎ sìn az hvñ a dminiśt rît t a fluṛśñ lîf. Ɖ traɉdi unfoldñ in ǎr cerhomz mst śrli b ɖ wec-p cōl ɖt w nīd t ćenj ɖt.
