Leader: 'Even the average standard falls short'

The latest in a long line of surveys warned that too few of us, of any age, are putting enough money by for our retirement. Worse, there was a grim series of news stories which will have scared anyone who is dealing with their own or older relatives' care right now.

No-one could have failed to have been moved by the revelation that Ninewells Hospital in Dundee had been rapped for sub-standard care of a dementia sufferer who was sedated 86 times in her 11 final days when she became upset that she could not eat properly.

At the same time, a Care Quality Commission investigation into the care of elderly patients at 12 hospitals south of the border found fault with six of them, and said standards at three were seriously unacceptable.

Meanwhile, here in Edinburgh, the News has this week reported events at the Elsie Inglis Nursing Home, which was probed after the death of one resident and then blasted as "terrible" by watchdogs Social Care and Social Work Improvement Scotland.

It's worth pointing out that these are exceptional cases and that there is excellent care out there too. However, anyone who has had to find a place for an elderly relative, especially one with health issues, knows that even the average standard often falls below what we want for our loved ones.

As the population ages it is going to become increasingly difficult to provide acceptable care for people in their "sunset years" - and much more expensive.

That is why we all have a duty to make provision for our own retirement. That too many are failing to do so led to criticism of a so-called "ostrich generation" in an HSBC report this week.

But there is another side to the deal too. And that is that the state must do all it can to help its OAPs, including monitoring the care they receive in private care homes.

It also must provide a safety net for all citizens, most of whom, after all, will have paid national insurance and tax throughout their lives.