Last year during an audit of a Charitable Care Home / Transit Home for mentally disturbed people, I asked a general question on how do the residents brush and bathe. The response from the caregiving team revealed a sad reality.
It seems, 60 residents shared about 20 Toothbrushes and 15 bath towels which were used on a first come first use basis. This means that 3 people were using one toothbrush and 4 people were using one towel.
To be honest, I have seen many Care Homes in India but this place took the cake in terms of showing that the poor, destitute and underprivileged are extended lower dignity especially if they are dependent upon others.
The larger point of debate is not about how some institutions use the poor and destitute to achieve their hidden agendas, the point is, should there be certain standards and regulations for the charitable entities who are providing boarding and lodging to destitute and poor?
While it is highly appreciated that many founders are trying to do good for the mentally disturbed people living on the roads, but then, is it ok to feed a hungry person half baked cake and think that atleast something is better than nothing?
It is not fair and practical to expect or demand charitable old age homes to comply with stringent quality standards especially when they are trying to do their best in limited capacity, however it is also not fair on the residents to put them into a place where safeguarding, privacy and dignity is completely overlooked.
I rather not bathe or brush because sharing a toothbrush with 60 people is not only a major infection threat but even the thought of it is repulsive.
It is high time that our policy making machinery and regulatory bodies take cognizance of such facilities otherwise we will keep debating about such issues for eternity and keep going for international study tours and conferences and top up the frequent flyer points.
Pankaj Mehrotra
