Provisions of care pre 1946?

Question

what was the standard of care like for the elderly

Answer 1

In the UK there was only the care you could afford and so standard of care was linked to income, rather than need.

Answer 2

Pre-1946 it was the family who willingly shouldered the burden of elder-care.  We didn't have the standards of medicine that we do today, thus the life expectancy was shorter. (as a generalization and not a rule)  Look at many of the family movies that had 3 generations of a family under the same roof.  ("the Waltons")  I would think that the standard of care was 'take care of your own elders.