By GARY MARTIN
Deputy chief executive, Action on Elder Abuse
Keith Brown (Debate & Opinion, 24 September) and Yvonne McEwen (Letters, 26 September), raise some excellent issues on the abuse suffered by veterans and older people, which we fully support and would seek to further explore with the Scottish Government and key stakeholders.
The Action on Elder Abuse (AEA) helpline received more than 9,600 calls last year, one in four of them about economic/ financial abuse, involving millions of pounds in cash and property stolen or coerced from a veteran or older person.
Prevalence Study Report stated the prevalence of elder abuse in Scotland was the second highest in the UK at 4.2 per cent – affecting more than 40,000 older people (compared with 6 per cent in Wales, 3.9 per cent in England and 3 per cent in Northern Ireland).
The scale of elder abuse is staggering, particularly when you realise that the research did not include people living in or being cared for in NHS facilities or care homes, or people with dementia.
Despite this, more than 40,000 older people in Scotland – equivalent to the population of Edinburgh – and 342,000 UK-wide are facing social and economic abuse, often at the hands of their own families or those we pay to provide sensitive care. This is the hidden abuse of society.
We look forward to the implementation of the Scottish Government's Adult Support and Protection Act. Our veterans fought hard to ensure the liberties and rights we all benefit from today. The very least we can do is to ensure that they are treated and cared for with the decency and respect they deserve.
SOURCE: Scotsman News
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