ABSTRACT
Staff working in old people’s homes are at the centre of society’s uncertainty about the purpose of such institutions. They are left to carry out a confused task in the way they think best; in addition they are left to carry a mass of feelings from a multitude of people (relatives, social workers, doctors, residents and others). The view of staff as ‘saints’ is also used to hide the fact that the job does involve tasks that ‘by ordinary standards are distasteful, disgusting and frightening’ (to repeat the quotation from Menzies). To this must be added the exhausting nature of the heavy physical work that is involved in constantly lifting old people. Most comments were about the needs of residents: ‘to make the resident feel each is an individual, their happiness and well-being is the most important objective’, ‘promoting an active independence in the resident’, ‘giving each a sense of belonging’.
