In Britain When Someone Gets Old They Often Go To Live In A Home With Other Old People | Band 8 IELTS Essay Sample

In Britain, when someone gets old they often go to live in a home with other old people where there are nurses to look after them. Sometimes the government has to pay for this care. Who do you think should pay for this care, the government or the family? Give reasons for your answer and include any relevant examples from your own knowledge or experience.

Here is a band 8 IELTS essay on this topic written by one of our students. Need help with IELTS writing? Get your IELTS essays, letters and reports corrected by me.

Band 8 IELTS essay sample

In Britain many aged people live in old age homes where their living and healthcare costs are usually borne by the government. This increases the burden on the public exchequer and is not a practice. Hence, in my opinion, adult children should take the responsibility of their aged parents.

The government will be under a tremendous financial strain if it has to look after the growing population of senior citizens in the country. In order to provide good health care to older people, the government collects enormous amounts of taxes from its citizens. As a result, workers get to save only a small amount of money. However, if the liability is on the family, the government need not have to collect higher taxes for the purpose of elderly care. In other words, people can enjoy good income and the authorities can concentrate on improving other weaker aspects of the nation.

Furthermore, when the family pays for the care, they take care to visit their parents frequently to see whether they are receiving good health care. Else, the family will not bother to care because they are not paying for the expenses. In addition, the parents are also benefited from this arrangement as they get to unite with family often which can assure them an emotional support. For example, in Sikkim, a north-eastern state of India, there is a rule that the elderly people should be taken care of only by the family.

In conclusion, I think, it is the responsibility of the family members to take care of the health expenses of their aged parents so that the old people receive support from their children and the government is also not overburdened with elderly care.

Band 7.5 IELTS essay sample

In Britain, it is a common practice for old people to stay in a senior care home. Sometimes, their living and medical expenses are borne by the government. In my opinion, this cost should be borne by the family if they can afford it. For those who cannot afford it, it is the responsibility of the government to bear it.

One of the main reasons for old people to go into a senior care home is that they have no one to take care of them. When children grow up into adults, they become busy with their own lives and career that they have no time for their senior parents. In a care home, there are certified nurses who can help them with their immediate medical need and day to day living. This is quite helpful for old people who cannot take care of themselves.

As for the question of who should bear the cost of their care, in my opinion, it is largely the responsibility of the government. However, if the family can afford it, they should certainly pay the bills. The government cannot neglect the needs of old people who served more than 30-40 adults years of their life paying taxes and working to keep the country’s economy flourishing. When they need help the government cannot turn a blind eye. Secondly, many families cannot afford bills from care homes because it is expensive. There should be an anonymous charity pool for these care homes where families can pitch in whatever they can afford.

To sum up, old people are just like children who require proper nourishment and attention without which their life becomes hard to survive and it is our soul duty to give back what they have provided to us.  

Band 7.5 IELTS essay sample

In some countries people prefer to spend their twilight years in old age homes. They are tended to by their attendants who look after their needs and care for their health. There are occasions where their nursing expenses are covered by governments. I firmly believe these expenses ought to be borne by the family.

Firstly, providing monetary support to old parents is a way of discharging moral responsibility. The family gets to play their part in ensuring that the needs of their beloved are met. Also, in all likelihood, the elderly will have bequeathed their assets to their children or grandchildren. So, obviously, it is their duty to take care of them. In addition, when families pay for the care, they are more likely to visit their aged parents at least to make sure that their money is being spent properly. If the government is taking care of all the expenses, they may not even bother to pay a visit.

Secondly, it is not possible to ensure that adequate payments are made by governments in a timely manner. Priorities of the governments change based on various factors. For instance, after the outbreak of coronavirus, the global economy was crippled and healthcare costs soared through the roof. This caused the government to change their priorities and old age homes often bore the brunt.  However, one may argue that the entire burden of the expenses should not be vetted to the family. Governments can help the families by providing tax concessions and monetary aids wherever applicable. Also, if the family does not have the financial means to provide for their aged parents, the government should come forward and offer free care.

To conclude, in my opinion, in order to ensure that seniors receive proper healthcare during their twilight years, families should come forward and bear the expenses as much as possible. The only exception to this situation should be cases where the families are financially poor to pay for this care.

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Manjusha Nambiar

Hi, I'm Manjusha. This is my blog where I give IELTS preparation tips.

4 Responses

  1. Arunn says:

    Nowadays , in uk, it is not surprising that when people become old it is often common that they have to share thier life with other elderly aged persons in old age houses where home nurses would take care of them. In case of cost, it is considered by many that government should settle, however i completely disagree with this statement and i believe family is the one to take care of senior citizens.

    There are numerous reasons to say that old age people expenses should be payed by their children’s. Firstly when these people were young, they nartured their children’s. In fact they tried to reach all dreams of their children’s. In other words they were the breadwinners of thier families they earned to keep them comfortable.For instance a recent survey conducted by family health and welfare shows that a average Person spend approximately 80 percentage from his monthly wages for daily living of family. So they could not save money for thier future .Therefore it is a responsibility of thier children’s to pay for expenses when get old.

    Another reason is to say that when they are coming to pay it would be a great opportunity to meet each other and to evaluate the care their parents are receiving. In other words, obviously old people are certainly craving for love and affection from their children’s and grand children’s so this would be a great chance to meet all together and share love. Furthermore elderly persons die hard to secure their children’s future, when they would be in a good position with handful of money, it is a duty of thier family to pay for expenses.

    To conclude, many thinks that government should settle old age house cost while i think that adult children’s are more responsible to take care of thier parents.

  2. Mells says:

    Old Age Homes or Nursing Homes is a need of the present by many aged people as families are small in size and do not have the sufficient time or financial support to look after their parents. This is also a need for the abandoned people or those elderly people who are single and independent. There are nurses trained for this particular type of care. Currently there is a debate on whether the government or the family should fund these types of facilities. We will discuss more on these aspects in below sections.

    With the newer generation who seem to not care much for their elderly parents due to the various constraints they face in life, a few being like low salaries and educational costs, looking after old people tends to be an extra burden for them. So thanks to these concepts like Old Age Homes who accepts old people and look after them. Also, there are old people who have been independent throughout their lives and the time has come where they need assistance and cannot live on their own. This is a seen in Britain as well as various other countries too.

    Though there have been few generous organisations who receive old people and take care of them without any kind of funding, the rise of old abandoned population is increasing and such organisations are unable to meet both ends of expenses. So currently there exists a debate of whether the government should pay for these costs or the family. In my opinion, there should be support from both the government as well as the family depending on the financial status of the family or the old person. The Government should have means to support families who are from a lower financial background. Also to support the upper class families who donate to such organisations, the government should be providing tax rebates on their donations they make to this good cause.

    To conclude, it should be the responsibility of the family as well as the government to fund such organisations, which will motivate younger generation to donate to such good causes and for the social up being and welfare of the elderly population of our country.

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