I am 73 and in relatively good health at the moment. But I am aware of the fact that with aging comes the liklihood of health in both physical and mental contexts becoming diminished. So there is a certain ‘knife edge’ about my existence.

The issue of physical and mental deterioration is an issue that sits in the back of my mind. Dying is not something that worries me as was the case when I was younger. However, diminishment concerns me greatly!

The nursing home issue is absolutely awful. The idea of being confined in a nursing home fulls me with dread. Nursing homes are being revealed to my thinking as ghastly alternatives.

Some patients who are afflicted with dementia and mind reducing ailments. This may cause them to become violent and abusive. Obviously they have to be contained, but age care workers are often people with limited training who draw a salary commensurate with their qualifications. They may do a job to the best of their ability, but performance is not really up to speed.

However, I suspect that poor or neglectful patient management is not limited to these cases.

The fact that nursing homes are primarily about shareholder profit has to mean that overall management costs are pared to the minimum allowed by law. This is done to enhance profits and inflate dividends.

I do not believe that aged care should be allowed to feature on the stock market.

When my time comes, I want to be able to take myself off this planet through a euthanasia allowed process. I do not want to become a burden on my family nor on society. And I don’t want to spend my last years in some dispassionate nursing home environment.