Most of us take walking, talking, seeing and hearing for granted. Old age and infirmity are things we would rather not consider. Nevertheless, when we see someone who is disabled by age or handicapped from birth or through an accident, our reactions are invariably of sympathy. 

Yet increasingly the world over, the care of the disabled is no longer falling upon families, but upon professionals whose job it is to provide the protection and support that busy and often much smaller family units feel that they can no longer give themselves.

This of itself may be regrettable but all too often in their crowded, full lives, people do not feel they have the time to undertake what can often be a full-time job. Thus in many countries, especially in North America and Europe, an industry has sprung up to look after the old and the disabled. The care is provided either by the state or, for those who can afford it, by private organizations.

In both cases, the people who actually do the day-to-day caring need something more than competence and professionalism; they also need to respect those in their charge and be prepared to offer them sympathy and even a degree of love. 

That is why it is so shocking when news breaks of the alleged abuse of helpless people who have been entrusted to caring professionals. The scandalous allegations around the injuries to a 20-year-old disabled boy at King Khalid Hospital in Tabuk are deeply distressing, not just for the people involved and their families. 

They should upset everyone who believes that strangers can be paid to care for people, whom society at large cannot find the leisure nor opportunity to look after itself. 

All around the world where such cases of neglect or deliberate mistreatment come to light — and they are discovered all too often these days — questions are asked about the quality of management and supervision, about the adequacy of outside inspection regimes and licensing procedures, and about the levels of training given to nursing and caring staff. It is regularly the case that one or more of these is found to be grievously inadequate. 

There is, however, a harsh reality here which may be difficult to accept. Being a professional carer is not just another job. It demands extra qualities of patience and understanding, which unfortunately are not generally reflected by the low salaries these workers are paid. There are for sure outstanding examples of people who care for others, not simply for the money but for the immense satisfaction that their work gives them. Those who work in hospices for the dying are often shining examples of the type.

However, in general, low salaries can mean that poorly educated, under-motivated individuals form the majority of people who take up the work. The reality would therefore seem to be that if society wants the old, disabled and infirm to be cared for properly, then it must be prepared to pay a lot more to attract the right caliber of carer.