Monitoring in Long-Term Care Pilot Project on Elder Abuse ( MILCEA)
MILCEA contributes to prevention of elder abuse. The subordinated goal is to develop a monitoring system that allows the assessment of elder abuse in long term care as a precondition for prevention. MILCEA is funded by the European Commission.
Report
Website in English/German
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October 8, 2012
Abuse of Our Elders is an Epidemic
Abuse of our elders is an epidemic
Oct 4, 2012
Carol Silver Elliott is CEO and president of Cedar Village Retirement Community in Mason and led the creation of the Shalom Center for Elder Abuse Prevention at Cedar Village. She spoke about elder abuse this week on a panel at the White House.
If you were told that there is a life-threatening issue that affects more than one in 10 older adults – more than 2.5 million people in the United States – would you be concerned and feel that something should be done?
There is such a problem, it is growing every year and little is being done to address it. That problem is elder abuse, and it is an epidemic.
Elder abuse is defined as intentional or neglectful acts by a caregiver or trusted individual that can lead to harm of people over age 65. These acts most often are committed by a family member, often a child or grandchild.
Abuse of older adults may be physical, sexual, financial, verbal, emotional and/or psychological. It includes intentionally ignoring or failing to meet a person’s needs. Elder abuse knows no race, culture or socioeconomic status – it is an equal-opportunity tragedy.
What does elder abuse look like? It’s a woman who has been physically battered by her daughter; a man whose son has his power of attorney and who emptied all of his bank accounts and now does not answer his phone; a man who is no longer allowed to make decisions for himself and fully participate in the active life he once knew. This abuse often goes unrecognized and unreported. Victims are afraid or ashamed to ask for help. They are not believed if they seek assistance, often because of their age.
Elder abuse is a form of domestic violence. Although our nation’s system of domestic violence shelters meets a vital need, such shelters do not meet the need for older adults. Caring for an 80-year-old in a shelter of young families does not work. Older adults have different needs – medically, nutritionally, legally and socially.
Two things need to happen to more effectively combat elder abuse:
• Members of the professional community and the general public must be educated to look for signs of abuse committed against their neighbors, customers, clients, patients and relatives. Then, alert authorities.
• Safe havens must be created in every community.
At Cedar Village, we’ve joined the ranks of five other long-term care facilities in the country that operate elder abuse shelters. The Shalom Center for Elder Abuse Prevention at Cedar Village has been open since Jan. 1.
It is a virtual shelter, which means that any one of Cedar Village’s 162 nursing home beds can be used as a bed for an abuse victim. Victims may stay for 90 to 120 days while plans are made to discharge them to the least restrictive alternative environment. They are integrated into Cedar Village’s population and receive medical and nursing care, therapy and nutrition services, spiritual care, social services and legal assistance.
Nearly every community in the nation has the resources to create a safe haven for the elderly at little expense. Beds in existing long-term care facilities are natural for this because, after all, the core of a shelter is a bed.
And individuals can help by being alert to older adults whose routines change, who become socially isolated or who have unexplained injuries. If there are older adults in your life and you have suspicions, ask them questions when they are alone. Be alert to when their account of an injury is different from a caregiver’s.
Our older adults deserve your help in regaining and maintaining their respect and quality of life.
SOURCE: The Cincinnati
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Oct 4, 2012
Carol Silver Elliott is CEO and president of Cedar Village Retirement Community in Mason and led the creation of the Shalom Center for Elder Abuse Prevention at Cedar Village. She spoke about elder abuse this week on a panel at the White House.
If you were told that there is a life-threatening issue that affects more than one in 10 older adults – more than 2.5 million people in the United States – would you be concerned and feel that something should be done?
There is such a problem, it is growing every year and little is being done to address it. That problem is elder abuse, and it is an epidemic.
Elder abuse is defined as intentional or neglectful acts by a caregiver or trusted individual that can lead to harm of people over age 65. These acts most often are committed by a family member, often a child or grandchild.
Abuse of older adults may be physical, sexual, financial, verbal, emotional and/or psychological. It includes intentionally ignoring or failing to meet a person’s needs. Elder abuse knows no race, culture or socioeconomic status – it is an equal-opportunity tragedy.
What does elder abuse look like? It’s a woman who has been physically battered by her daughter; a man whose son has his power of attorney and who emptied all of his bank accounts and now does not answer his phone; a man who is no longer allowed to make decisions for himself and fully participate in the active life he once knew. This abuse often goes unrecognized and unreported. Victims are afraid or ashamed to ask for help. They are not believed if they seek assistance, often because of their age.
Elder abuse is a form of domestic violence. Although our nation’s system of domestic violence shelters meets a vital need, such shelters do not meet the need for older adults. Caring for an 80-year-old in a shelter of young families does not work. Older adults have different needs – medically, nutritionally, legally and socially.
Two things need to happen to more effectively combat elder abuse:
• Members of the professional community and the general public must be educated to look for signs of abuse committed against their neighbors, customers, clients, patients and relatives. Then, alert authorities.
• Safe havens must be created in every community.
At Cedar Village, we’ve joined the ranks of five other long-term care facilities in the country that operate elder abuse shelters. The Shalom Center for Elder Abuse Prevention at Cedar Village has been open since Jan. 1.
It is a virtual shelter, which means that any one of Cedar Village’s 162 nursing home beds can be used as a bed for an abuse victim. Victims may stay for 90 to 120 days while plans are made to discharge them to the least restrictive alternative environment. They are integrated into Cedar Village’s population and receive medical and nursing care, therapy and nutrition services, spiritual care, social services and legal assistance.
Nearly every community in the nation has the resources to create a safe haven for the elderly at little expense. Beds in existing long-term care facilities are natural for this because, after all, the core of a shelter is a bed.
And individuals can help by being alert to older adults whose routines change, who become socially isolated or who have unexplained injuries. If there are older adults in your life and you have suspicions, ask them questions when they are alone. Be alert to when their account of an injury is different from a caregiver’s.
Our older adults deserve your help in regaining and maintaining their respect and quality of life.
SOURCE: The Cincinnati
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Call to Action Against Elder Abuse
By Ellwood Shreve, QMI Agency
October 4, 2012
Elder abuse is often well hidden, because family members, caregivers or scam artists victimize many seniors.
But, with the growing number of seniors in Ontario, due to aging baby boomers, collaboration is key to addressing this issue.
That was the key message brought by Durham Regional Police Sgt. John Keating, an expert in the field of crimes against seniors, and Tammy Rankin, elder abuse advisor with the Regional Municipality of Durham. The two were presenters Thursday at a Chatham-Kent Abuse Awareness Committee workshop in Chatham.
Keating said it is important for community partners to tackle this issue, because "there isn't any one agency that can do this on their own."
Police, caregivers and other agencies need to work together, he said.
He told of an elder abuse case in Durham region where a long-term care (LTC) home resident was suddenly in arrears for her lodging.
Because the woman suffered from dementia, and wouldn't be spending her own money, the LTC home contacted police.
Keating said when police heard the word "arrears," the response was this is a civil matter and the problem continued for several months.
Fortunately, the victim's son realized an injustice was taking place and pressed police to investigate. Police discovered the victim's daughter, who had power of attorney, took $163,250 from her mother's bank account over a three-month period. She gambled it away, Keating said.
The daughter ended up being convicted of theft by power of attorney.
Keating said the matter may have been dealt with faster if it was described as a suspected fraud or theft, to police. However, he said the culture is changing and police are recognizing seniors are more likely to be victims of crime, because of his fellow officers are being educated about elder abuse.
Other ways seniors can fall victim is through con artists who roam online dating sites, crooked home care workers who steal money, and workers in homes who over medicate residents to make them easy to handle.
Rankin is concerned about whether society is ready to handle the issue as the number of seniors in Ontario, currently at 1.6 million seniors, is expected to rise to more than three million in the next 20 years.
Noting this is referred to as the "boomer tsunami," Rankin said there are currently waiting lists for admission into LTC homes and to receive in-home care.
"If we're already behind now, we are we going to be in 20 years?" she said.
It is estimated between 2% and 10% of seniors have been abused physically, psychologically or financially. Statistics show the son of a victim is likely to be the abuser 24% of the time, the same percentage applies to unrelated caregivers. Grandchildren are the abusers 21% of the time.
Pam Fasullo, executive director of Chatham-Kent Victims Services and a member of the C-K elder abuse awareness committee, said the problem is large in scope.
"That means there's between 32,000 and 160,000 older adults living in the province of Ontario who are being abused in some form by someone that they know and trust," Fasullo said.
She said those statistics would be comparable in Chatham-Kent where an estimated 1,076 to 2,690 adults 55 and over have experienced some form of abuse.
Fasullo has seen several examples through her work with victim services where elderly victims "want the help, they want the abuse to stop . . . but often times they don't want to report to police."
Rankin said a call to action is needed, like the one decades ago when society became aware of the startling statistics about child abuse and domestic violence.
This resulted in more services and laws being put in place to provide protection.
"We have to recognize that we care for a children, we care for people through domestic violence far more efficiently than we do our older adults," she said. "We have to value them, combat ageism and put some money and resources into combating the issue."
SOURCE: Chatham Daily News
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Man First Helps, Then Takes $4,000 From Wheelchair User
BSO: Man first helps, then takes $4,000, from wheelchair user
By Linda Trischitta, Sun Sentinel
October 5, 2012
FORT LAUDERDALE
When James Talley was paying for a meal at The Glass Key restaurant, someone was watching as the senior citizen in a wheelchair drew from an envelope that held more than $4,000.
"The victim is a retired toll collector on Florida's Turnpike who was going to pay first and last months' rent on a new apartment," said Broward Sheriff's spokeswoman Veda Coleman-Wright. "That's why he had so much money on him."
Talley, who lives in the Palm Aire neighborhood, encountered Randolph Soto at 361 NW 27th Ave. in Pompano Beach on Aug. 9, according to the Broward Sheriff's Office.
Soto, 31, who also lives in the city, offered to help Talley cross the street.
But before they parted, Broward Sheriff's Detective Steven Hoover wrote in his report that Soto helped himself to Talley's envelope.
And then he fled.
"Everybody in that neighborhood knows 'Turnpike,'" Hoover said Thursday of Talley, who uses the nickname. "And most people know Soto."
Soto was arrested Wednesday, two months after the incident.
He was charged with abuse of an elderly or disabled adult without great harm, and robbery without a weapon.
In first appearance court Thursday, Broward Judge John "Jay" Hurley noted there was "no force indicated" on the arrest report.
"[Talley] positively identified you as the person who took his money," Hurley told Soto.
The judge found probable cause for the charges, and Soto was held on $12,500 bond at the Broward County main jail.
Hoover said Talley's money was not recovered.
SOURCE: The Sun-Sentinel
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By Linda Trischitta, Sun Sentinel
October 5, 2012
FORT LAUDERDALE
When James Talley was paying for a meal at The Glass Key restaurant, someone was watching as the senior citizen in a wheelchair drew from an envelope that held more than $4,000.
"The victim is a retired toll collector on Florida's Turnpike who was going to pay first and last months' rent on a new apartment," said Broward Sheriff's spokeswoman Veda Coleman-Wright. "That's why he had so much money on him."
Talley, who lives in the Palm Aire neighborhood, encountered Randolph Soto at 361 NW 27th Ave. in Pompano Beach on Aug. 9, according to the Broward Sheriff's Office.
Soto, 31, who also lives in the city, offered to help Talley cross the street.
But before they parted, Broward Sheriff's Detective Steven Hoover wrote in his report that Soto helped himself to Talley's envelope.
And then he fled.
"Everybody in that neighborhood knows 'Turnpike,'" Hoover said Thursday of Talley, who uses the nickname. "And most people know Soto."
Soto was arrested Wednesday, two months after the incident.
He was charged with abuse of an elderly or disabled adult without great harm, and robbery without a weapon.
In first appearance court Thursday, Broward Judge John "Jay" Hurley noted there was "no force indicated" on the arrest report.
"[Talley] positively identified you as the person who took his money," Hurley told Soto.
The judge found probable cause for the charges, and Soto was held on $12,500 bond at the Broward County main jail.
Hoover said Talley's money was not recovered.
SOURCE: The Sun-Sentinel
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Seniors Need to Be Wary of Medicare Fraud (USA)
Seniors Need to Be Wary of Medicare Fraud
Bernard A. Krooks, Contributor
In previous entries, we’ve discussed different types of financial elder abuse. One thing is certain, Medicare abuse and fraud is rising. Experts estimate that in 2010, Medicare and Medicaid together made $65 billion in improper payments, and that number rose to $98 billion in 2011. [1] As thieves become more sophisticated, seniors and caregivers must become more vigilant – as Medicare abuse and fraud can affect a loved one’s health and healthcare programs. Here’s a quick guide to Medicare fraud and a few tips to protect yourself and your loved ones:
Medicare fraud is defined as any individual or company searching for Medicare reimbursement payments under false pretenses. [2]
There are a few common types of Medicare fraud that include:
• Identity Theft: When a medical professional steals patient information to use to over-bill Medicare.
• Equipment Substitution: An order for medical equipment may be intercepted, with Medicare being billed for newer or more expensive equipment and the patient being provided with cheap or used equipment.
• Phantom Billing: A doctor’s office may bill for services never performed.
• Upcoding: A medical provider may submit bills to Medicare for a more expensive service than the one actually performed.
• Unnecessary Procedures: A doctor may perform procedures that are not medically necessary in order to bill Medicare for the cost.
• Generic Drugs: Medicare is often billed for name brand medications when generic drugs were actually provided to the patient.
Medicare fraud doesn’t just cost the federal government. It often results in substandard medical treatment for the patient, and the additional costs can mean that the patient’s Medicare allotment is used up due to fraudulent billing. Fraud costs also increase health care costs and can eventually lead to higher taxes.
Here are a few things you can do to protect yourself or a loved one from Medicare fraud:
• Review your claims for mistakes or concerns:
• Keep a record of the dates of your doctors’ appointments and save your receipts and statements that you receive from providers to check for errors.
• Compare your records with the Medicare processed records to ensure you were not billed for any services you did not receive. You can review your Medicare claims by:
• visiting www.mymedicare.gov (claims are normally available within 24 hours after processing)
• calling 1-800-Medicare (1-800-633-4227) or
• looking at your Medicare Summary Notice (MSN)
• If you notice an incorrect charge on your bill, call your doctor or health care provider to give you more information to better understand the billing issue—it is possible there was a billing error.
• Make sure that the information below is readily accessible before contacting your doctor, health care provider, or Medicare:
• Your name and Medicare number
• The date of your Medicare Summary Notice (MSN)
• The provider’s name & any identifying number;
• The service or item in question;
• The date the service/item was received;
• The payment amount approved/paid for by Medicare;
• The reason you think Medicare should not have paid;
• Any information providing evidence to show why Medicare should not have paid for the service/item in question.
If you think you or your loved one may have been a victim of Medicare fraud, help is available. The Senior Medicare Patrol is a federally-funded resource to help seniors combat Medicare abuse. To contact the New York Senior Medicare Patrol, call the 24-hour hotline at 1-877-678-4697 or visit http://www.aging.ny.gov/ResourceGuide/HealthInsurance.cfm. For more information about our elder law services, visit www.elderlawnewyork.com.
SOURCE: The New York Times
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Bernard A. Krooks, Contributor
In previous entries, we’ve discussed different types of financial elder abuse. One thing is certain, Medicare abuse and fraud is rising. Experts estimate that in 2010, Medicare and Medicaid together made $65 billion in improper payments, and that number rose to $98 billion in 2011. [1] As thieves become more sophisticated, seniors and caregivers must become more vigilant – as Medicare abuse and fraud can affect a loved one’s health and healthcare programs. Here’s a quick guide to Medicare fraud and a few tips to protect yourself and your loved ones:
Medicare fraud is defined as any individual or company searching for Medicare reimbursement payments under false pretenses. [2]
There are a few common types of Medicare fraud that include:
• Identity Theft: When a medical professional steals patient information to use to over-bill Medicare.
• Equipment Substitution: An order for medical equipment may be intercepted, with Medicare being billed for newer or more expensive equipment and the patient being provided with cheap or used equipment.
• Phantom Billing: A doctor’s office may bill for services never performed.
• Upcoding: A medical provider may submit bills to Medicare for a more expensive service than the one actually performed.
• Unnecessary Procedures: A doctor may perform procedures that are not medically necessary in order to bill Medicare for the cost.
• Generic Drugs: Medicare is often billed for name brand medications when generic drugs were actually provided to the patient.
Medicare fraud doesn’t just cost the federal government. It often results in substandard medical treatment for the patient, and the additional costs can mean that the patient’s Medicare allotment is used up due to fraudulent billing. Fraud costs also increase health care costs and can eventually lead to higher taxes.
Here are a few things you can do to protect yourself or a loved one from Medicare fraud:
• Review your claims for mistakes or concerns:
• Keep a record of the dates of your doctors’ appointments and save your receipts and statements that you receive from providers to check for errors.
• Compare your records with the Medicare processed records to ensure you were not billed for any services you did not receive. You can review your Medicare claims by:
• visiting www.mymedicare.gov (claims are normally available within 24 hours after processing)
• calling 1-800-Medicare (1-800-633-4227) or
• looking at your Medicare Summary Notice (MSN)
• If you notice an incorrect charge on your bill, call your doctor or health care provider to give you more information to better understand the billing issue—it is possible there was a billing error.
• Make sure that the information below is readily accessible before contacting your doctor, health care provider, or Medicare:
• Your name and Medicare number
• The date of your Medicare Summary Notice (MSN)
• The provider’s name & any identifying number;
• The service or item in question;
• The date the service/item was received;
• The payment amount approved/paid for by Medicare;
• The reason you think Medicare should not have paid;
• Any information providing evidence to show why Medicare should not have paid for the service/item in question.
If you think you or your loved one may have been a victim of Medicare fraud, help is available. The Senior Medicare Patrol is a federally-funded resource to help seniors combat Medicare abuse. To contact the New York Senior Medicare Patrol, call the 24-hour hotline at 1-877-678-4697 or visit http://www.aging.ny.gov/ResourceGuide/HealthInsurance.cfm. For more information about our elder law services, visit www.elderlawnewyork.com.
SOURCE: The New York Times
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October 3, 2012
Elderly Patient Left to Wet Bed in Hospital Corridor (NSW. AUSTRALIA)
Lateline
By Matthew Carney
October 2, 2012
An elderly woman was left in a corridor for six hours and told to urinate in her bed when she needed to go to the toilet in a disturbing case of neglect at a major Sydney hospital.
Doctors say the incident at Sydney's St Vincent's Hospital points to a system in crisis.
The 89-year-old woman's daughter told ABC1's Lateline that her mother was rushed to the hospital with a serious staph infection early last week.
The daughter, who wants to remain unidentified, says her mother was left on a trolley in a corridor in the emergency department for six hours.
"I'm disgusted, terrified that I might be in the same position one day. Where do you go? And what if she didn't have me as her voice?" she said.
When the elderly patient asked for a bedpan her daughter says a nurse told her to urinate in her clothes in bed.
She was sobbing, she said 'I'm 89-years old, I've paid my taxes all my life, and this is what's happening to me. I have to urinate in the bed.' And her anguish transferred to me and I didn't know which way to turn.
Daughter of a St Vincent's patient
"She was sobbing, she said 'I'm 89-years old, I've paid my taxes all my life, and this is what's happening to me. I have to urinate in the bed'," she said.
"And her anguish transferred to me and I didn't know which way to turn."
The daughter says her mother was left for two hours in the same bed sheets. She says her mother then asked for painkillers.
"She was in extreme pain, was given none of her medication," she said.
"When I told them what medication she was on, a certain painkiller, they said 'we don't use that in emergency because it's too expensive'."
St Vincent's says the system was under stress when the 89-year-old patient entered the hospital and a full investigation will be undertaken.
"The easy answer would be that the hospital was extremely busy at the time, and it was; clearly there was a lot of acute and complex patients who were presenting to the emergency department," spokesperson David Faktor said.
"But that doesn't absolve ourselves of extending just basic levels of care to distressed patients."
The daughter of the patient says the hospital was chronically understaffed.
St Vincent's has apologised to the family, but says it cannot comment on whether this incident is symptomatic of a wider problem.
"I think anyone in those circumstances would be most significantly humiliated," Mr Faktor said.
"But I think the second emotion would be very angry and disappointed and we, as a society, deserve better than that.
"We as a hospital certainly aim to provide care that is leaps and bounds better than that."
System in crisis
Brian Owler, president of the NSW branch of the Australian Medical Association, says the public hospital system is in crisis.
"It's a symptom of a hospital system - whether it's New South Wales or any other state - that's under enormous stress and pressure," he said.
"It's a result of underinvestment in infrastructure of health care, right across the country. Not just governments in place now but governments that have gone before them."
The AMA says emergency departments do not have enough beds to cope with increasing demand and budget cuts are making the situation much worse.
"Having cuts on top of that to a system that's already under stress means that, whether you make the cuts to the back line or not, the frontline clinical services are always going to be affected, particularly in a system that's already under stress, and where there's no surplus jobs that exist in particular in NSW Health," Dr Owler said.
The New South Wales Government rejects the claim that the health system is in crisis.
In a written statement NSW Health Minister Gillian Skinner says she will be redirecting $2.2 billion in savings to frontline health services.
SOURCE: ABC, Australia
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October 2, 2012
Sons are Major Abusers of Elderly Parents in India
Sons are major abusers of elderly parents in India
26 per cent said verbal abuse was very common
IANS
September 30, 2012
GULF NEWS
New Delhi: A large percentage of India’s elderly face abuse from their sons, rather than their daughters-in-law, with financial dependence being one of the main reasons for neglect and abuse.
While the government gives a paltry monthly pension of Rs.200 (Dh13) to those over 60 years in below-poverty-line (BPL) families, social activists are fighting for raising this to Rs.2,000 a month for all the elderly, irrespective of economic background.
October 1 is the International Day of the Elderly.
A survey conducted by HelpAge India on elder abuse indicates that the elderly suffer abuse silently — mostly at the hands of their sons.
There is a common belief that only daughters-in-law abuse elders. On the contrary, 56 per cent of those surveyed felt it was their sons who abuse them; daughters-in-law scored as low as 23 per cent,” Mathew Cherian, chief executive of HelpAge India, told IANS.
Over 44 per cent of the elderly said disrespect was the most common form of abuse, while 30 per cent said it was neglect and 26 per cent said verbal abuse was very common.
The report is based on a survey across 20 major cities, with a sample size of 5,600 and 280 elders per city.
Only a few of the elderly were willing to accept they faced abuse in some form while others chose to keep mum for the sake of family honour.
“Nearly 33 per cent of them are living without their children. Around 22 million widows, fairly a large group, have no form of subsistence. The widow’s pension reaches only about 10 per cent of the widows,” said Cherian.
“Overall, the situation of the elderly in the country is very bleak,” he added.
Financial burden is one of the main reasons for the neglect and abuse. Experts say universal old age pension would help the elders in a big way.
While a majority of the elderly know the police helpline numbers and services, they never call up — “for the sake of family honour”.
An activist of Pension Parishad, an initiative to ensure universal pension to all workers in India, told IANS: “Under the Indira Gandhi Old Age Pension Scheme those above 60 get Rs.200 a month and those above 80 get Rs.500 per month as pension.
“This amount is too less and the scheme covers only below-poverty line citizens. Only 18 million of the elderly population benefit from this scheme. We are demanding a programme for pension irrespective of whether a person belongs to below poverty line or above poverty line.”
The activist who did not want to be named said union Rural Development Minister Jairam Ramesh had written to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh saying that the Rs.200 pension amount was “an insult” to the individual since it’s too low an amount.
While the Pension Parishad, of which social activist Aruna Roy is a member, is fighting for reducing the age limit for pensions to 55, Minister Jairam Ramesh is not in agreement. He wants it to remain at 60 years.
According to Cherian, the government should implement universal pension and health insurance. “Only then will the situation of elders who are 60-plus be better,” Cherian said.
The HelpAge report also said that around 62 per cent elderly felt that children needed to be sensitised to prevent elder abuse and the inter-generational bonding strengthened. However, 38 per cent felt that only economic independence would solve the problem.
The activist added that the government had to increase more health insurance packages which are tailor-made for people who can only afford low premiums.
The report says that Madhya Pradesh tops elder abuse cases with 77.12 per cent. This is followed by Assam — 60.55 per cent, Uttar Pradesh — 52 percent, Gujarat — 42.97 per cent, and the lowest is Rajasthan — 1.6 per cent. The national capital, including the National Capital Region (NCR), has 29.82 per cent cases.
Of those interviewed in Delhi and NCR, 30 per cent admitted to facing abuse. The primary perpetrators of abuse were sons in 60 per cent cases, followed by daughters-in-law in 24 per cent cases.
SOURCE: Gulf News
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26 per cent said verbal abuse was very common
IANS
September 30, 2012
GULF NEWS
New Delhi: A large percentage of India’s elderly face abuse from their sons, rather than their daughters-in-law, with financial dependence being one of the main reasons for neglect and abuse.
While the government gives a paltry monthly pension of Rs.200 (Dh13) to those over 60 years in below-poverty-line (BPL) families, social activists are fighting for raising this to Rs.2,000 a month for all the elderly, irrespective of economic background.
October 1 is the International Day of the Elderly.
A survey conducted by HelpAge India on elder abuse indicates that the elderly suffer abuse silently — mostly at the hands of their sons.
There is a common belief that only daughters-in-law abuse elders. On the contrary, 56 per cent of those surveyed felt it was their sons who abuse them; daughters-in-law scored as low as 23 per cent,” Mathew Cherian, chief executive of HelpAge India, told IANS.
Over 44 per cent of the elderly said disrespect was the most common form of abuse, while 30 per cent said it was neglect and 26 per cent said verbal abuse was very common.
The report is based on a survey across 20 major cities, with a sample size of 5,600 and 280 elders per city.
Only a few of the elderly were willing to accept they faced abuse in some form while others chose to keep mum for the sake of family honour.
“Nearly 33 per cent of them are living without their children. Around 22 million widows, fairly a large group, have no form of subsistence. The widow’s pension reaches only about 10 per cent of the widows,” said Cherian.
“Overall, the situation of the elderly in the country is very bleak,” he added.
Financial burden is one of the main reasons for the neglect and abuse. Experts say universal old age pension would help the elders in a big way.
While a majority of the elderly know the police helpline numbers and services, they never call up — “for the sake of family honour”.
An activist of Pension Parishad, an initiative to ensure universal pension to all workers in India, told IANS: “Under the Indira Gandhi Old Age Pension Scheme those above 60 get Rs.200 a month and those above 80 get Rs.500 per month as pension.
“This amount is too less and the scheme covers only below-poverty line citizens. Only 18 million of the elderly population benefit from this scheme. We are demanding a programme for pension irrespective of whether a person belongs to below poverty line or above poverty line.”
The activist who did not want to be named said union Rural Development Minister Jairam Ramesh had written to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh saying that the Rs.200 pension amount was “an insult” to the individual since it’s too low an amount.
While the Pension Parishad, of which social activist Aruna Roy is a member, is fighting for reducing the age limit for pensions to 55, Minister Jairam Ramesh is not in agreement. He wants it to remain at 60 years.
According to Cherian, the government should implement universal pension and health insurance. “Only then will the situation of elders who are 60-plus be better,” Cherian said.
The HelpAge report also said that around 62 per cent elderly felt that children needed to be sensitised to prevent elder abuse and the inter-generational bonding strengthened. However, 38 per cent felt that only economic independence would solve the problem.
The activist added that the government had to increase more health insurance packages which are tailor-made for people who can only afford low premiums.
The report says that Madhya Pradesh tops elder abuse cases with 77.12 per cent. This is followed by Assam — 60.55 per cent, Uttar Pradesh — 52 percent, Gujarat — 42.97 per cent, and the lowest is Rajasthan — 1.6 per cent. The national capital, including the National Capital Region (NCR), has 29.82 per cent cases.
Of those interviewed in Delhi and NCR, 30 per cent admitted to facing abuse. The primary perpetrators of abuse were sons in 60 per cent cases, followed by daughters-in-law in 24 per cent cases.
SOURCE: Gulf News
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No Policy, Law About the Elderly in Pakistan
No policy, law about the elderly in Pakistan
2 October 2012
President Asif Ali Zardari has reiterated the government’s commitment to continue working for the welfare and protection of elderly people.
In a message on the occasion of International Day of Older Persons falling on October 1, Zardari called up philanthropists and the affluent members of society to step forward and play their role.
“Through concerted action by all, the private and the public sector, we can make the lives of elderly more comfortable and meaningful,” he said.
In a similar message, Prime Minister Raja Pervez Ashraf said the older people are repository of experience, knowledge and wisdom as they have been through thick and thin in life.
Meanwhile, Global Age Watch which gathers data and analyses on population ageing in a report has pointed out that thanks to empty rhetoric from successive governments, Pakistan has neither a policy on ageing nor a national legislation for older people.
Population trends in the country indicate that the percentage of people of 60 years or more is 6.5 per cent and by 2050 this will rise to 15.8 per cent. With a ranking of 123 out of 195 countries in terms of percentage of population aged 80-plus, Pakistan doesn’t have a comprehensive pension system, says the report.
According to the Planning Commission, the population with 60 years or more will increase from 3.78 million in 2011 to 4.31 million by 2015 and 7.45 million by 2030.
The latest national review and appraisal report under the ‘Madrid International Plan of Action on Ageing’ submitted to the United Nations by the ministry of human resource development says the population of older persons in Pakistan is very small because of high incidence of heart diseases, diabetes, hepatitis, tuberculosis, malaria, diarrhoea, kidney diseases and water-borne diseases in the country.
The report submitted to the United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific for its second review and appraisal of the international plan of action that concluded last week admitted that Pakistan neither had a policy on ageing nor a national legislation for older people.
The report recommended that Pakistan should replicate the Expanded Senior Citizens Act, introduced by the Philippines which provided social pension to the older persons.
SOURCE: KhaleeJTimes
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2 October 2012
President Asif Ali Zardari has reiterated the government’s commitment to continue working for the welfare and protection of elderly people.
In a message on the occasion of International Day of Older Persons falling on October 1, Zardari called up philanthropists and the affluent members of society to step forward and play their role.
“Through concerted action by all, the private and the public sector, we can make the lives of elderly more comfortable and meaningful,” he said.
In a similar message, Prime Minister Raja Pervez Ashraf said the older people are repository of experience, knowledge and wisdom as they have been through thick and thin in life.
Meanwhile, Global Age Watch which gathers data and analyses on population ageing in a report has pointed out that thanks to empty rhetoric from successive governments, Pakistan has neither a policy on ageing nor a national legislation for older people.
Population trends in the country indicate that the percentage of people of 60 years or more is 6.5 per cent and by 2050 this will rise to 15.8 per cent. With a ranking of 123 out of 195 countries in terms of percentage of population aged 80-plus, Pakistan doesn’t have a comprehensive pension system, says the report.
According to the Planning Commission, the population with 60 years or more will increase from 3.78 million in 2011 to 4.31 million by 2015 and 7.45 million by 2030.
The latest national review and appraisal report under the ‘Madrid International Plan of Action on Ageing’ submitted to the United Nations by the ministry of human resource development says the population of older persons in Pakistan is very small because of high incidence of heart diseases, diabetes, hepatitis, tuberculosis, malaria, diarrhoea, kidney diseases and water-borne diseases in the country.
The report submitted to the United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific for its second review and appraisal of the international plan of action that concluded last week admitted that Pakistan neither had a policy on ageing nor a national legislation for older people.
The report recommended that Pakistan should replicate the Expanded Senior Citizens Act, introduced by the Philippines which provided social pension to the older persons.
SOURCE: KhaleeJTimes
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Elderly Can Sue Over Poor Care (UK)
October 1,2012
By Sarah O'Grady
PENSIONERS treated badly in hospitals and care homes can sue for compensation under new age-discrimination laws to be introduced today.
The new rules will also ban the NHS from denying older patients treatments simply because of age.
Recent evidence that old people have been left hungry, dehydrated and lying in soiled clothing in NHS hospitals and care homes has caused outrage.
Doctors have also admitted that they routinely restrict access of some treatments to the elderly.
However, while age discrimination in the workplace is already outlawed, there has been no legal protection in the provision of elderly care services.
This new legislation, the final part of the Equality Act 2010, will ensure that older people cannot be discriminated
against in the provision of goods, facilities and services.
Under the Act, age discrimination claims will be heard by county courts, and patients may be entitled to large sums in compensation.
The rules complement existing laws banning age discrimination in the workplace.
Specific exemptions are included in the laws to allow some positive discrimination, such as the provision of age-related benefits such as free bus passes or certain medical treatments like flu jabs.
General health and social care provision are not included in the exemptions to ensure fair treatment for older patients.
SOURCE: The Express, UK
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By Sarah O'Grady
PENSIONERS treated badly in hospitals and care homes can sue for compensation under new age-discrimination laws to be introduced today.
The new rules will also ban the NHS from denying older patients treatments simply because of age.
Recent evidence that old people have been left hungry, dehydrated and lying in soiled clothing in NHS hospitals and care homes has caused outrage.
Doctors have also admitted that they routinely restrict access of some treatments to the elderly.
However, while age discrimination in the workplace is already outlawed, there has been no legal protection in the provision of elderly care services.
This new legislation, the final part of the Equality Act 2010, will ensure that older people cannot be discriminated
against in the provision of goods, facilities and services.
Under the Act, age discrimination claims will be heard by county courts, and patients may be entitled to large sums in compensation.
The rules complement existing laws banning age discrimination in the workplace.
Specific exemptions are included in the laws to allow some positive discrimination, such as the provision of age-related benefits such as free bus passes or certain medical treatments like flu jabs.
General health and social care provision are not included in the exemptions to ensure fair treatment for older patients.
SOURCE: The Express, UK
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Minister of State Hightlights Elder Abuse Awareness Project (CANADA)
Minister of State (Seniors) Highlights Elder Abuse Awareness Project on National Seniors Day
OTTAWA, ONTARIO
(Marketwire)
10/01/12
The Honourable Alice Wong, Minister of State (Seniors), delivered opening remarks today, on the occasion of National Seniors Day, at an elder abuse awareness event organized by the Federation des ainees et aines francophones du Canada (FAAFC).
"National Seniors Day is an occasion to recognize seniors, and all of the valuable contributions they have made and continue to make in our communities, workplaces, families and society," said Minister of State Wong. "On this day, the Government of Canada is proud to pay tribute to seniors and remains committed to better protecting Canadian seniors from elder abuse."
The FAAFC received $700,000 in pan-Canadian project funding under the New Horizons for Senior Program (NHSP) to update and improve elder abuse awareness tools, create a national network of partners and train senior volunteers to facilitate awareness activities for seniors in francophone communities across the country. This is one of 33 pan-Canadian NHSP projects, totalling $14.6 million, that the Government of Canada announced in early summer to help increase awareness of elder abuse.
The Government of Canada is committed to supporting the well-being of seniors. For relevant and easy-to-access information on federal, provincial and territorial services and benefits available to Canadian seniors, please visit www.seniors.gc.ca.
SOURCE: USPolitics Einnews
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OTTAWA, ONTARIO
(Marketwire)
10/01/12
The Honourable Alice Wong, Minister of State (Seniors), delivered opening remarks today, on the occasion of National Seniors Day, at an elder abuse awareness event organized by the Federation des ainees et aines francophones du Canada (FAAFC).
"National Seniors Day is an occasion to recognize seniors, and all of the valuable contributions they have made and continue to make in our communities, workplaces, families and society," said Minister of State Wong. "On this day, the Government of Canada is proud to pay tribute to seniors and remains committed to better protecting Canadian seniors from elder abuse."
The FAAFC received $700,000 in pan-Canadian project funding under the New Horizons for Senior Program (NHSP) to update and improve elder abuse awareness tools, create a national network of partners and train senior volunteers to facilitate awareness activities for seniors in francophone communities across the country. This is one of 33 pan-Canadian NHSP projects, totalling $14.6 million, that the Government of Canada announced in early summer to help increase awareness of elder abuse.
The Government of Canada is committed to supporting the well-being of seniors. For relevant and easy-to-access information on federal, provincial and territorial services and benefits available to Canadian seniors, please visit www.seniors.gc.ca.
SOURCE: USPolitics Einnews
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