By: Marian Harrison
MORE than 260 cases of abuse of the elderly in the West of Ireland were reported to the Health Service Executive (HSE) last year and campaigners say that is just the tip of the iceberg.
Figures for the nine western counties - including Mayo, Roscommon, Sligo and Galway - show the number of referrals in 2008 were more than twice that of 2007 when 111 cases were reported.
However, the formal process of collecting national statistics on the abuse of the elderly only started in 2007 and only covered nine months of that year. A total of 135 referrals in the west last year related to people between 65 and 79 years of age and 129 alleged cases were in connection with people over the age of 80.
Nationally, more than a quarter of reported cases were for psychological abuse with self-neglect and neglect also problematic. A total of 12 per cent of the complaints were for physical abuse, including slapping, but only one per cent of alleged cases related to sexual abuse.
Age Action Ireland say the figures are “just the tip of the iceberg”.
“The fact that the number of cases referred to the HSE was double the number in 2007 is of grave concern,” said spokesperson Eamon Timmins.
“International research has found that between three per cent and five per cent of the older populations in other countries have been victims of elder abuse. If applied to the Republic of Ireland this would mean that between 14,000 and 23,000 older people would have experienced elder abuse during the latter years of their lives.”
Minister for Older People, Máire Hoctor, has urged people to continue “to open their eyes to elder abuse”.
The HSE has developed an elder abuse service to prevent such abuse.
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