The germ of an idea

Working for someone and working for oneself are two completely different experiences.For the better part of my life I worked for a company,loved it,hated it,got fed up and quit when I figured I could manage on my own.For the last five years I have been on my own doing things I like,not earning any money but at peace all the same.

When one takes responsibility for someone else it can be a bigger job than a sales target hanging over ones head so for all the years that I looked after my dad and mom I grappled with the demands of looking after old people.Quiet like children they need a lot of special attention and one can get a bit impatient and hopeless once in a while.The experiences of most of my friends in similar situations is that medical care for the elderly in this country is pathetic.In a country obsessed with youth and a population in billions,the elderly and the handicapped both get the wrong end of the stick.Gone are the days when doctors visited patients at home,made housecalls and actually knew their customers.Nowadays the banks know more about us than the doctors.

My mother recently had mobility problems and having searched high and low for a doctor to come home I gave up.It seems we have to live with the problem and not do a thing about it.Her doctor being the gem that she is is trying very hard to give us some support and I am so grateful to her for just trying.Which set me thinking.Having worked for so many years I do have a pretty decent hold of my ideas.I know how to make a business plan,know how to plan things etc.So the germ of an idea comes to me.I need to get down and dirty ,get organised and get hold of a network of doctors and nurses who can and will commit to doing house calls.I want a group of volunteers who can look out for old people in their neighbourhood and I need to work this thing through.

Will the idea take off?.I don't know but having called a couple of services I did find that they were way out of the reach of ordinary people like me.Most old people live on pensions or on the grace of their children who most often than not don't have the time for them.The organisations that exist are for the rich or the very poor.The middle class as usual are left behind.My intentions are good but will they find a voice?.Will I come up against official red tape or what?.Only time will tell but I have an agenda.I am thinking that the church will be my first port of call.Then some well meaning friends,then some more people.Gardening has taught me some patience so I hope this idea will find fruit.If I cant learn from my experience and help people like me cope then life is a wasted exercise.All help and suggestions of course are taken on board.