[West Ender]

I can just imagine what my mother's reaction would have been if you'd tried to put a tag on her. She lived alone for 16 years, after my dad died, and though her body deteriorated her mind was as sharp at 91 as mine is now.

She had to have carers in her last few years, which incidentally she had to pay for, as she had severe arthritis and couldn't manage cooking and cleaning (though nothing ever really got dirty) and eventually found it difficult to dress herself without help. The one thing she never lost was her dignity. She refused, point blank, to even contemplate leaving her home. Even selling the house and buying a bungalow nearby was not an option she would consider - she got a stair-lift instead. It was my sorrow, and my guilt, that I lived too far away from her to be able to take care of her in the way I would have liked to but I couldn't move to her location and she wouldn't move to mine.

We tend to forget that even those who suffer severe dementia have their lucid times and knowing that their faculties are often impaired, as many of them do, is distressing for them. Though it might be done with the best of intentions the imposition of being tagged could cause a great deal distress to an old person. They may be physically infirm, they may be mentally confused, but is that any reason to take away their dignity? Never mind tagging, we (the country) should spend more money on providing care for them and protecting and cherishing them as they once did for us.