Abandoned elderly

Modern Western society and the nuclear family has "structured-out" the social role of elderly people, while keeping them alive and financially independent for longer. The expectation that society should provide for their comfortable and meaningful old age is increasingly unrealistic as the cost of living and the proportion of elderly in the population rise. On the other hand, families which do care for elderly relatives at home are often emotionally strained and financially disadvantaged. There is an increasing frequency of dependent elderly people being left at hospitals, day centres and nursing homes by relatives unwilling or unable to attend to their needs. Elderly people with financial means and their mental faculties intact usually have better choice and stability about their situation. The abandoned poor, infirm or senile may spend their last days as transients moved from one overcrowded government facility to another.