IT IS important as a society to understand the needs and wants of our older citizens.

As we age our senses decline, but music often provides an opportunity for our elderly citizens to remain in contact with society.

This well-known fact is understood by a number of local community groups, who visit retirement establishments and nursing homes to provide free entertainment for the residents.

These entertainers are people with musical skills who love to demonstrate their passion, be it by voice or musical instruments.

This brings absolute joy to the senior residents, providing a win/win for both the givers and the receivers of their talents.

However, a major provider of these essential services in our area has decided to introduce a set of bureaucratic requirements that will prevent these talented volunteers from providing their musical services.

“For crying out loud,” I’m sure you must be thinking.

Why would you interfere with people entering the latter stages of life from accessing music for their joy and entertainment?

Who let the bureaucrats off the chain to rampage through one of the last vestiges of enjoyment available to our magnificent elder citizens.

Well, guess what?

It has now been deemed necessary for every volunteer to sign up to a set of conditions in which they need to complete a course of some 3.5 hours of lectures, plus a five-page agreement.

All that must be assessed and approved before the volunteer can enter the premises.

Are you kidding me guys?

Is this real or just madness being instituted?

Of course, the free volunteers are kicking back on these conditions.

Who can blame them?

I’m sure our whole community must be stunned into incredulity.

If these ridiculous conditions are not corrected pretty quickly, our aged community will lose out.

It is my understanding that many volunteers have already declared their intention of ceasing their involvement forthwith.

The singers and musicians do not come in contact with the residents when performing their shows.

They are not in any way “in charge” of the residents, who always have trained staff present as part of their normal duties.

They are not performing the role of a doctor or nurse or even an orderly, they are just entertaining senior citizens and in some cases could have relatives or close friends living in those circumstances.

Why would one of the requirements be to hold a Police check or undergo mandatory training?

All they want to do is sing or play their instrument of choice.

By John BLACKBOURN