There is an element of postcode lottery to this as well. My father has recently been through the hospital process, having fallen and sustained a neck of femur fracture. Additional complications upon admission made him a demanding patient, but the staff on the ward, from the orthopoedic team to the HCAs seemed to do an excellent job - caring, enthused, energetic. And since his return home, the package organised by the social services team of a carer once a day to aid in dressing and ablutions in the morning has been excellent.
Then you get to read all the stories, both in the report, and the newspapers, of elderly patients being ignored or abused; of "carers" stealing from them, of being rude or unhelpful, and you have to conclude that if you get a great service you are probably one of the lucky minority.
So, greater regulation is an absolute must. Proper training and certification for home carers, a criminal records check etc. More time per visit. Probably a wage paying a little better than the minimum wage might help, but the most important factor-a carers compassion or empathy- is inherent, not something that can be trained.We also need to recognise, as a society, that all this needs to be paid for, and not just trying to scrape by with the cheapest tender or the lowest minimum wage offer - so how should it be funded? Higher general taxation? a hypothecated tax? Compulsory insurance plans? However unpalatable, some system needs to be adopted that allows for better than we currently have.
A society is judged by how it treats it weakest and most disadvantaged. Our society has fallen behind in our treatment of some of the most vulnerable, the infirm elderly. I also think that we as a society need to recognise that with medical advances, better food and living conditions comes the benefit of a longer life, but that the downside is that many of us will probably have need of some form of assisted care for part of our lives in the future - and that we all need to decide how that is to be paid for.