As Scotland’s care system teeters on the brink, a damning undercover report and personal reflections expose the moral crisis at the heart of how we treat our elderly — and the shame we all share in letting it continue warns Herald columnist and Writer at Large Neil Mackay

I’ll never forget the sting of vicarious shame I felt during a conversation with the Indian-born demographer Dr Parag Khanna. We were talking about the crisis engulfing the west over low birth rates and longer life-spans.

The west faces a set of conditions where there soon won’t be enough young people paying taxes to support the number of elderly people who need pensions and care.

As we ranged over the causes and possible solutions, he moved to the topic of putting the elderly in care homes. “Of all the metrics to measure a civilised society,” he said, “one would surely be: do you let old people die alone?

“I can think of no greater moral crime than treating old people like that. It’s downright barbaric. Western society should be ashamed of itself. It’s repugnant. We can choose to be a civilised country or choose not to be.”

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Some may disagree, but I felt guilt at his words. He’d identified a moral wound festering in the west’s heart. We don’t treat our elderly with the dignity they deserve. That’s on all of us whether we like it or not.

We’re citizens, so we shoulder some blame for the values of our society and the actions of our governments. To say otherwise, is to abnegate responsibility for the country in which we live.

Khanna’s words played on my mind throughout........

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