“The secret shared by all the elderly is that in seventy or eighty years you have not really changed. Your body changes but you don't change at all. And this, of course, causes great confusion." (Lessing, 1992). Getting older was never something I gave much thought to as a healthy young adult with the inevitable “invincible” attitude of youth. Completing my most recent training placement in a residential aged care setting opened my eyes to the realities of life; that we age, we slow down, our hair turns grey, our skin wrinkles and our bodies start to fail. Yet every older person I had the honor of working with showed me that they were still that same person inside. Even those experiencing the most advanced stages of dementing illnesses such as Alzheimer's showed their personalities and preferences in their own ways, but this was not always taken into account by the healthcare professionals involved in their care. I asked myself: are we depriving the elderly people entrusted to our care of their freedom of choice? Is it to make work easier that decisions about what clothes to wear or what to eat are made on behalf of the older person? The first article of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UN General Assembly, 1948) states that “All human beings are born free and equal in dignity and rights”, however the actions taken and decisions made regarding care and lifestyle of the patients I met led me to ask myself whether the rights and dignity of these people are being put at risk? It is for this reason that this document focuses on the older person's right to privacy and dignity in residential care. Policy being analyzed For the purposes of this document, the policy of residential care for the elderly... half of the document... ... residents whose families could afford their care. However, there were some beds allocated to the Fair Deal Scheme. The residents on my caseload who used these rooms suffered from dementia and Alzheimer's disease. Due to the nature of these conditions, monetary matters and the Fair Deal application process were carried out in collaboration with family members, usually a son or daughter. As dementia-related illnesses cause memory loss and cognitive decline, discussion of the subjective experience of the Fair Deal Scheme with these particular residents was not appropriate. However, I had the opportunity to discuss the issue with a lady's daughter while she was attending a therapy session with her mother. After the session, I approached this woman and asked if we could discuss the program's impact on her mother's care.