Seniors' Groups Are Calling for a National DOB-IN Line (AUSTRALIA)

SENIORS' groups are calling for a national dob-in line.

Their call comes after a string of high-profile manslaughter prosecutions of carers accused of killing their bed-ridden mothers.

Queensland authorities have laid charges against at least five in recent months, all accused of neglecting elderly women in their care.

In one case, a Brisbane woman was handed a five-year sentence for killing her mother, who died with maggot-ridden bedsores that penetrated deep into her muscle and bone.

Council of the Ageing chief executive Ian Yates yesterday called for a national approach to deal with the problem of "elder abuse", which he said was likely to continue with the ageing population.

"One of the problems is that when people suspect elder abuse, they don't know who to call," said Mr Yates. "What we need is a national 1-800 number."

Lillian Jeter, executive director of the Elder Abuse Prevention Association, called for mandatory reporting legislation, which would compel carers and health professionals to report any suspected abuse.

"But the first step has to be 1-800 lines that people can call if they see something," she said.

Mandatory reporting currently exists only in residential care, as a result of revelations in 2006 that elderly residents of a Victorian aged care home had been sexually abused.

National Seniors chief executive Michael O'Neill said every death was a tragedy but questioned the practicality of increasing oversight of carers.

"People often underestimate the demand placed on carers and the stress levels they have to deal with, particularly if they're caring for someone with a significant illness," Mr O'Neill said.

SOURCE:     The Australian


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Human Rights Day 2010

Human Rights Day 2010: Reflections on a great year for older people's rights

By Jennifer Williams

10th December 2010

Today is Human Rights Day; the theme for this year is human rights defenders who work to end discrimination.

Being part of HelpAge International and working on our Age Demands Action campaign, marking the importance of those defending human rights seems particularly significant.

And this year perhaps even more than others. 

As an organisation we've achieved so much, as have the older people around the world we work with. And clearly Human Rights Day is the best day to do it!

Global action on human rights

Firstly, in October we worked with thousands of rights defenders through the older men and women in 50 countries around the world who spoke up to defend their rights as part of the Age Demands Actioncampaign.

There were marches with brass band processions and involving celebrities like Kenyan football legend,Joe Kadenge. World renowned South African trumpeter, singer and composer Hugh Masekela also lent his support to older people's rights.

There were also exhibitions of older people's handicrafts and interactive radio talkshows in Indonesia;and in Bangladesh older people formed human chains to ask for an increase in their old age allowance.

Read more about our campaigns and our work for the rights of older people

Abridged
SOURCE:     HelpAge.Org
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Daughter in Fatal Elder Abuse Case Faces Indictment (USA)

Daughter in fatal elder abuse case faces indictment

By Kevin P. O'Connor

Herald News Staff Reporter

Dec 09, 2010 

A grand jury will announce indictments Friday, against Karen Cabral, the woman charged with severely neglecting her mother.

Cabral’s mother, who was 80 years old, died two days after she was taken to the hospital for treatment of bedsores and a blood infection.

Lawyer Kenneth Van Colen, who represents Cabral, told District Court First Judge Gilbert Nadeau that Cabral, 49, will be indicted and is scheduled for arraignment in Superior Court on Dec. 15.


Abridged
SOURCE:     The Herald News
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Caretaker Accused of Elder Abuse in Death of Woman, 83 (USA)

70-year-old caretaker accused of elder abuse in death of woman, 83

December 9, 2010 

By Tony Perry

A 70-year-old woman has been arrested on suspicion of elder abuse in the death of an 83-year-old woman whose body "showed signs of trauma," the San Diego Police Department  said Thursday night.

Maria Moore, the older woman's caretaker, was booked into the Las Colinas jail for women, police said.

Abridged
SOURCE:      LA Times Blog
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Experts Call for Reform as Aged Care Gripes Rise (WA. AUSTRALIA)

By ANGELA POWNALL

The West Australian

December 6, 2010

Welfare advocates have called for urgent reform of the aged care sector after new figures showed complaints about aged care homes and alleged assaults on residents were on the rise.

The Federal Government's report into the Aged Care Act also highlighted the shortage of residential care places, with almost 8 percent of elderly people assessed as needing high care waiting at least nine months for a bed.

Council on the Ageing WA chief executive Ken Marston said the statistics showed the immense pressure aged care services were under.

"There's a huge shortage in WA and it's getting worse," he said.

"Where are these people going? They are going into care awaiting placement, something between an acute hospital and a nursing home, or they are in the community being cared for by people who simply don't have the resources needed.

"We have people parked all over the place."

The Federal aged care complaints investigation scheme received 13,166 complaints in 2009-10 - 5 percent up on the previous year - mostly about health and personal care, and alleged abuse.

While complaints increased nationally, the report did not specify the number of complaints in WA in 2009-10. There were 1085 complaints in WA in 2008-09.

However, officials made fewer visits to WA residential care homes in 2009-10, with 184 announced site visits and 34 unannounced site visits compared with 197 and 42 respectively the year before.

Fewer breaches of aged care regulations were uncovered by officials, with 51 being identified in WA residential care homes last year compared with 75 in 2008-09.

Alleged assaults on residents in aged care homes increased to 1488, with 256 of them involving alleged unlawful sexual contact.

Lynda Saltarelli, from advocacy group Aged Care Crisis, said there was a lack of transparency about nursing home complaints which prevented elderly people and families making informed decisions.

Ms Saltarelli said the quality and quantity of staff was another big problem. "Staff are run off their feet and often have to deal with lots of resident with high care needs," she said.

Aged care providers have argued that they are underfunded by the Federal Government, which subsidises aged care beds.

Federal Ageing Minister Mark Butler said yesterday Australia had one of the best aged care systems in the world but the Government was aware that it needed reform.

Mr Butler said the Productivity Commission was investigating detailed options for aged care reform and said the Government had "full faith" in the complaints investigation scheme and the Aged Care Standards and Accreditation Agency.

SOURCE:     Yahoo News, Australia
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Woman's Daughter Charged with Abuse and Neglect ( USA)

Woman's daughter charged with abuse and neglect

'Worst case I've ever seen'

BY DAVID MACDOUGALL

December 8, 2010

A 98-year-old woman who died Tuesday was being neglected by her primary caregiver, her 60-year-old daughter, police said.

Police were summoned by EMS workers to the East George Street home of Anne Copeland about 6:20 p.m. Monday. The elderly woman was lying in a soiled bed, said St. George Police Lt. Eric Bonnette, commander of the detective division. She had numerous sores, he said.

The house was unheated and filthy, with animal droppings and odors throughout, he said.

Abridged
SOURCE:  The Post and Courier
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Concerns Over Care Homes (IRELAND)

Concern over care homes

08 December 2010

SEVERAL care homes for the elderly have been served "improvement notices" by health department inspectors, and one has closed down voluntarily, after critical inspection reports.

The Audit Office report — covering the period 2006-2009 — has also questioned the regulations allowing unregistered and unqualified carers, including nursing support staff, to work in both residential and nursing care homes.

Following a series of Regulation and Quality Improvement Authority (RQIA) inspections, 29 care homes in Northern Ireland were served a total of 45 "failure to comply" notices along with quality improvement plans.

According to the report published today, ten of the worst performing care homes were also served with notices "imposing additional conditions of registration".

The additional restrictions are described as ranging from restricting admission to the cancellation of a home's registration.

One repeatedly failing care home in Antrim closed voluntarily after failing three separate inspections and an "inability to sustain improvement".

There are almost 10,000 people being cared for in the province's 490 registered care and nursing homes at a cost of £280 million per year on top of the residents' contributions.

The report calls for the health department to establish a "clear time frame" of action on improving staff regulation for the "protection of vulnerable adults", and to improve care quality.


Abridged
SOURCE:      Newsletter.co.uk
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Couple Admit to Theft in Elder Abuse Case (USA)

Forest Grove couple admit to theft in elder abuse case

December 08

By Emily E. Smith

The Oregonian

Police investigated a Forest Grove pair for three months and accused them in June of elder abuse.

Debra Ann Drown, 43, and 50-year-old Richard Dennis Neil, purchased a Trent West timeshare, a boat, two vehicles and charged credit cards using unauthorized online access to an 84-year-old woman's money, police said.

Abridged
SOURCE:       The Oregon Live
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Reports Reveals Shocking Examples of Failings in Nursing Care (WALES)

Report reveals shocking examples of failings in nursing care

Dec 6 2010

by Madeleine Brindley, Western Mail

A hard-hitting report by the Patients Association has revealed shocking examples of serious failings in nursing care. The daughter of a woman treated in South Wales shares her account of her mother’s experience

“MY mother’s health had already started to decline before my father died.

Memory and mobility problems were noticeable before 2006 – after my father died she became more and more reliant on family and carers for day-to-day living.

After two falls in October 2009 she was admitted to the Princess of Wales Hospital, in Bridgend, for tests and observation. This was the first time my mother had stayed in hospital, having been in fairly good health for most of her 82 years.

We (her family) received conflicting information concerning her condition and future care – she had a fracture of the hip; she didn’t have a fracture; she had a chest infection; she had a urine infection.

It depended on whom we managed to speak to. If the family were confused, then my mother most certainly was greatly confused.

During her stay in hospital she was moved four times between wards. Staff were too busy to help her walk to the toilet – it saved time to either wheel her or bring a commode – also, to be on the safe side, incontinence pads were used.

I think this combination is part of the institutionalisation of patients and the reason my mother became incontinent.

On December 20 we were told my mother could go home the following day. This was obviously impossible to arrange at such short notice – she needed four care visits a day, special equipment put in place, not to mention arrangements with medication and pharmacy visits.

It seems rather harsh, but at this point we thought she would be safer where she was until after the holiday – it took some persuading for staff to see the sense in this.

On December 30 – just 10 days after we were told she could go home – we were told that it would be unlikely that my mother would go home unless she had 24-hour supervision and encouraged us to look for a placement in a residential home.

She stayed at the hospital until the end of January – we were hoping she wouldn’t be moved until a place was ready for her but bed-blocking necessitated a move, in the interim, to a community hospital – Maesgwyn.

February to April saw a further decline in my mother’s mental health.

During her stay at Maesgwyn my family mentioned to all levels of staff that mum’s needs were not being met satisfactorily but because of the rigid, institutional atmosphere we were concerned not to compromise her care by complaining too much.

She was not bathed or showered frequently enough. She was left to her own devices in the toilet – she couldn’t cope with incontinence pads and was seen on one occasion walking in the corridor with her underwear and pad around her lower legs, very distressed.

Underwear and clothes that were soiled were left in her wardrobe – resulting in the clean laundry smelling and possibly being contaminated. A senior nurse said she couldn’t be present all the time to prevent this.

Abridged
SOURCE:    WalesOnline


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Lack of Reform Leaves Elderly Open to Neglect (AUSTRALIA)

Lack of reform leaves elderly open to neglect

BY ELLEN JONES

06 Dec, 2010

A CULTURE which does not value older people is the underlying cause of elder abuse, senior citizen.

Local seniors have welcomed changes to NSW law which could see those who neglect elderly people in their care jailed for up to five years.s believe.

The changes involve modernising a section of the Crimes Act to bring the law up-to-date with social changes, including an ageing population.

They will protect older people dependent on carers, parents cared for by their children and people who are dependent on their de facto partner by making it an offence to fail to provide properly for them.

Orange resident Jenny Sams said it was not unheard of for older people to experience abuse and said she was pleased the government was responding.

“I think it is a problem,” she said. “People can be neglected.

“I used to work in the aged care industry and some people who come in are neglected. I also think we don’t know our neighbours these days so it can be hard to look out for people.”

Tricia Dolstra said there was an underlying lack of respect in the way Australians treated their elderly relatives.

“The amount of people who are dumped in nursing homes and never get a visitor - it’s awful,” she said. “It’s about time we took a leaf out of other cultures’ books.”

The changes to the law have been welcomed by the NSW Council on the Ageing.

Ron Savage, who co-ordinates a Broadband For Seniors program in Orange, said volunteer tutors had recently been asked to submit to police background checks in order to protect their students.

Mr Savage said it was important to protect people who may be vulnerable.

“Anyone dealing with the elderly will have to have a police check,” he said. “With kids you’re probably worried about sexual abuse, but I think with the elderly it’s more about financial exploitation.”

The changes to the Crimes Act will also replace a reference to “insane persons” with a more modern description of a person with a mental illness.

SOURCE:    The Central Western Daily
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