‘Administration only coping on to abuse’ – doctor
Written by Lloyd Mudiwa
21 April 2009
Clinicians on the frontline have been aware for some time now of the prevalence of elder abuse that was only being highlighted by the HSE now, a leading consultant geriatrician has charged.
Dr Christine O’Malley last week contended it was not that elderly abuse had doubled, but its reporting had improved.
She was referring to reports that complaints of elder abuse in Ireland almost doubled last year. A new report for the HSE showed that the number of abuse cases rose from 927 in 2007 to 1,840 in 2008.
More than a quarter of the allegations involved psychological abuse, almost one-fifth involved neglect, and 16 per cent referred to financial matters.
In 12 per cent of cases, the alleged abuse was physical.
“Up to now the people who have known about this were the health specialists who come into close contact with the patient and their families.
“The administration are always a step behind the doctors, who have been raising this issue for some time now. Perhaps they will now get support from the administration to deal with the issue,” Dr O’Malley commented.
The perpetrator of the abuse was usually a close relation to the older person, with almost two-thirds of those abused being female. The most common person to report a case was a public health nurse, hospital or HSE staff member. Referrals by family members accounted for less than 15 per cent of cases.
The HSE last week said it was making progress in addressing the issue of elder abuse.
“The HSE is committed to protecting older people from all forms of abuse, regardless of where it occurs or who the perpetrators might be,” Mr Frank Murphy, Chairman of the HSE’s National Elder Abuse Steering Committee said.
“Over time, the collection and collation of elder abuse data will prove invaluable in informing the planning and delivery of services for older people,” he added.
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