New Partnership to Tackle Elder Abuse (UK)

CDNA Welcomes New Partnership to Tackle Elder Abuse
(Community and District Nursing Association)

Major new partnership targets the secrecy of elder abuse in care homes,
as charity, statutory and care providers unite to protect older people.

Fear prevents many older people and their relatives from reporting or challenging elder abuse. Fear prevents workers from whistle-blowing on their colleagues when they witness poor practice. Now, a unique scheme is being developed to over-come this hurdle and guarantee security for people in care homes who wish to safely make their voices heard...

On Tuesday 23rd October 2007 Action on Elder Abuse, in conjunction with a range of partners in both the statutory and private sector, will launch a unique service for residents, relatives and staff living in a number of care homes in Essex. The specialist helpline - which is the result of a unique collaboration between Action on Elder Abuse, Southern Cross Healthcare, Rushcliffe Care, Essex Vulnerable Adult Protection
Committee, and the Commission for Social Care Inspection - is being launched under the Government's 'Dignity in Care' campaign and is the first of its kind to directly address the fears of people wishing to voice their concerns about abuse; promoting dignity in care as well as providing the opportunity for residents, relatives and staff to report
issues of abuse and bad practice.

The working arrangements of the partnership allow for information received by the charity's specialist helpline to be passed to relevant safeguarding and/or regulatory procedures, with agreements on timeframes for response and independent scrutiny.

Chief Executive of Action on Elder Abuse, Gary FitzGerald, said, 'The Care Home sector has received a lot of criticism in recent years for failing to respond to abuse issues, but the care providers involved in this project have taken a major positive step in providing a platform for people to voice concerns about abuse and bad practice, as well as
ensuring that these concerns will be acted upon and taken seriously. They are to be strongly congratulated for their integrity and commitment to a policy of zero tolerance to abuse, and for taking steps to ensure that this policy is a reality.' Continued FitzGerald, 'While this is initially a pilot project, its impact should be of interest to the whole
care sector, to statutory services, to regulators and most importantly to care home residents.'

The care providers involved in the project have demonstrated a strong desire to tackle abuse (and potential abuse) by putting a robust and independent system in place to reinforce those intentions and give assurances and protection to residents, relatives and staff who wish to raise concerns.

The Commission for Social Care Inspection (CSCI) which regulates standards in care homes, as well as assessing the performance of local authorities, has commended the partnership approach being taken by this project as groundbreaking. Paul Snell, Chief Inspector at CSCI, said. 'It is vital that we give people who use care services and their
relatives and friends the courage to complain if they or a loved one have been abused. It is just as important for staff in care settings to blow the whistle if they see abuse taking place. Once that abuse has come to light there must be proper collaboration between all the relevant agencies to resolve that issue quickly. The partnership approach being launched in Essex is to be commended.'

Gary FitzGerald believes that partnership working among agencies is the only way forward in tackling abuse, 'We need to see care providers as genuine partners in tackling abuse and not on 'the other side of the fence'.

The initiative is being supported by the Minister for Social Care, Ivan Lewis, who has championed the Dignity in Care campaign which is strongly supported by Action on Elder Abuse, 'I congratulate Action on Elder Abuse and its partners for launching this important initiative. Older people deserve to be treated with dignity and respect. Abuse in any setting is unacceptable and it is vital that we all work together to eliminate it. I want people to be as outraged by the abuse of an older person as they are by the abuse of a child. I wish the helpline well and look forward to hearing that the pilot scheme has been a success.'

Rowena Smith chair of the CDNA said:

“The CDNA brought this issue to the public’s attention some years ago - our members were witnessing an increasing number of cases of violence and mental abuse. The situation clearly remains serious and it is important to remember that most abuse takes place in the home. District nurses are ideally placed to see first hand abuse and I am very concerned at the worrying rise and the number of incidents that don’t get reported. The home should be a sanctuary for elderly people yet can become a place of fear and violence. We will continue to campaign calling for dignity for our elderly community and better protection of their human rights. It is important to remember that elder abuse takes many forms and is not just violent and physical behaviour but can be mental and financial abuse”

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